Pokémon: Return to Kalos
by TheSoundDefense
Summary: Five years after they first left, two teenagers return to the region of Kalos. One dreams of winning the Pokémon League, the other of becoming Kalos Queen. Old friends join them and powerful new rivals impede them, along with a vengeful Team Rocket and the newest Kalos organization, Team Ace. A new adventure in Kalos begins!
1. The First Reunion of Many!

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We are now beginning our descent into Lumiose City. Please adjust your seats and…"

All about the airplane, passengers started raising their seats and putting away their tray tables. Near the back of the plane, a fifteen-year-old boy in a red hat and a blue vest was still sleeping lightly, his head resting against the wall. While he stayed asleep through the announcement, the small, yellow, mouse-like creature on his lap did not, blinking and sitting up. He turned and looked upward at the sleeping boy, before climbing up his shirt and looking him in the face.

"Pikapi." He reached out and patted the boy's cheek several times, trying to rouse him. After a couple of seconds, the boy stirred and woke, his eyes opening to see his companion looking back at him.

"Ah… what is it, Pikachu?"

Pikachu pointed out the window in response, hopping back down onto the boy's lap. He leaned forward and glanced outside, grinning wide as he saw the plains and mountains of Kalos below. He watched their approach quietly, trying to identify as many landmarks as he could, each one bringing up a memory of the region that he hadn't been to in five years.

"Well, here we are again… another journey, and another shot at the Kalos League." He glanced down at the Pokémon on his lap. "You ready for another adventure, buddy?" Pikachu nodded in response, smiling, before turning and pressing his face against the window.

The boy turned away from the view, taking out his handheld Pokédex and turning it on. He scrolled through various screens until he found what he was looking for: _Ash Ketchum, Pokémon League history_. The device showed the record of what had happened on his last journey through Kalos: eight Gym badges collected, and a second-place finish in the Kalos League. The Pokédex had all of the badges greyed out, indicating that they were no longer valid after so many years. He'd have to start from the beginning all over again.

Ash put the device back into his pocket, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, smiling as he did so. He pictured himself standing in the middle of the Kalos League arena, hoisting a giant trophy over his head in triumph; he imagined himself being entered into the Kalos Hall of Fame with his team of Pokémon. He'd been dreaming of a second chance ever since his last journey here, and he didn't plan on losing again.

* * *

After landing in Lumiose City, Ash departed the plane with the other passengers and started walking through the terminal, looking for the baggage claim, with Pikachu sitting on his shoulder. He couldn't help but grin as he took in a deep breath; there was something about Kalos that just made the air seem more clean and fresh than other regions, and almost floral. He decided to look it up sometime.

He walked down a flight of stairs and spied the baggage claim on the other end of the hall, making his way toward it, navigating the dense crowd of people traveling through the airport. As he moved to collect his bag, he felt a gentle tug on his pant leg, and a small voice.

"Xew! Xew!"

Ash stopped and glanced down, curious, finding himself looking at a short, gray-colored Pokémon with two green fins on his face like whiskers, and one on top of its head. He recognized the species immediately, kneeling down.

"An Axew? What are you doing here, outside of your ball?" The Axew raised its hands over its head, like a toddler wanting to be lifted up. Ash reached out and grasped it carefully, lifting it up and inspecting it carefully, not sure why this Pokémon had chosen him out of everyone in the entire crowd. Pikachu cocked his head as well, muttering curiously.

"Are you lost, little guy?" The Axew nodded in response, looking forlorn, and Ash gave it a reassuring smile in response. "Well don't worry, I'll find someone who can help. You'll be reunited with your owner in no time." He started walking off, still holding the Pokémon in his hands. He looked around for some sort of information booth, or someplace where he could have an announcement made, when he suddenly became aware of a loud voice, shouting in his direction and getting closer very quickly.

"You get your hands off my Axew, you kidnapper!" Ash jumped and turned around immediately, but didn't have time to get a single word out before he found himself being tackled to the ground; Pikachu yelped and flew off of his shoulder, knocked onto a nearby conveyor belt. Another pair of hands started grabbing at the Pokémon in his grasp, trying to wrench it away gently but forcefully, as Ash was still getting his bearings, the wind having been knocked out of him. Everyone around him immediately took a step back, not wanting to get caught in the fray.

"You think you can just take whatever lost Pokémon wanders across your path, you jerk?!"

"I wasn't kidnapping it!" Ash shot back, looking back up at his assailant. "I was just…" He trailed off as he got a closer look at the girl wrestling the Axew out of his hands, quickly recognizing the darker skin and the voluminous purple hair, despite how long it had been since he'd last seen it. "Iris? Is that you?"

"What?!" The girl's eyebrows raised, but her scowl was no less angry. "How do you know my name?!"

"Iris, it's me!" Ash quickly let go of the Axew, sitting up on his elbows. "Ash Ketchum! You remember me, don't you?"

Her eyes went wide as they roamed over his face; the years had matured both of their looks, but she was quickly able to identify some distinguishing features from long ago. Her angry glare instantly changed to a joyous smile. "No way! I don't believe it, it's been years!" She quickly hopped off of him, standing and reaching out a hand to help him up, which he graciously took. "Thanks for finding Axew for me. He got lost in the crowd as I was getting off my plane."

"Thanks for the friendly greeting." Ash dusted off the back of his vest, as Pikachu managed to make his way back over, climbing up Ash's side. The people standing around and watching went back to their own business.

"Well, you can't be too careful in a big city." Iris smiled up at him, having to tilt her head up to meet his eyes. While Ash had shot up like a weed over the past five years, Iris had not; he was at least half a foot taller than she was, and she only came up to his nose. "How have you been? What are you doing here in Kalos?"

"I'm taking another shot at the Kalos League," he replied, as Pikachu climbed into his arms; his Pokémon reached out toward Axew cheerfully, and the two shook hands, remembering each other well and happy to meet again.

"Another shot?" Iris responded, watching the two Pokémon interact. "You've been here before?"

Ash nodded. "Kalos is where I went after I left Unova. I've always wanted another chance to compete in it." He glanced back at Iris. "What about you? Are you challenging the League, too?"

She shook her head. "Nah, I'm not. I'm here to try and find as many Dragon-type Pokémon as I can." She grinned. "Besides, Gym Leaders aren't allowed to compete, anyway."

Ash's eyes widened. "Wait, you mean…"

"Yep!" Iris gestured toward herself proudly. "You're looking at the new Gym Leader of Opelucid City!"

"That's awesome!" He grinned wide, proud and happy to hear this news. "When did that happen?"

"Just over two years ago, when Drayden finally retired. I've left the Gym in the hands of some Academy students while I take a break." She smirked a bit. "They'd better not be letting me down."

"Well, I hope you find what you're looking for." He grinned back at her. "The two of us should battle sometime. I'd love to see how strong you've gotten!"

Her eyes lit up, excited. "How about right now?"

He smirked. "Sounds good to me. Let's go!"

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, both of them had grabbed their bags and left the airport, finding a Pokémon battle field in a nearby park. They stood on opposite sides of the field, staring each other down, energized; Pikachu was sitting on Ash's shoulder, while Axew had returned to his favorite perch, in Iris's hair.

"Hope you're ready for this, Ash!" Iris called out, holding a Poké Ball in her hand. "I've been waiting for this battle ever since I became a Gym Leader!"

"Well, I'm not holding back! Don't worry, you'll get a battle!"

She grinned, pleased, before hurling her Poké Ball out into the field. "Go, Excadrill!" As the ball landed, it opened up and released a bundle of red energy, which leaped out and formed the shape of a tall bipedal creature; it quickly turned solid, forming a black mole-like Pokémon with red features, and metal fins and claws on its head and hands. His eyes focused on the trainer in front of him, recognizing him more quickly than Iris had.

Ash nodded, having expected this; Excadrill had always been one of Iris's favorite Pokémon to use in battle. "Go on, Pikachu! You've got this!" Pikachu nodded, hopping off of Ash's shoulders and running onto the field, smirking and staring down his opponent, on all fours.

Iris's eyebrows raised. "Really, Ash? Five years later and you're still ignoring type advantages?"

"I'm not ignoring them!" Ash exclaimed. "Pikachu is just the only Pokémon I have with me!"

She sighed in response. "Well, don't expect us to go easy on you!" She looked down at her Pokémon, eager to begin. "Excadrill, use Metal Claw!"

"Drill!" Excadrill dashed forward, its claws gleaming in the sunlight, and it took a large swipe at Pikachu, who quickly backed away and just barely managed to dodge. He responded with a Thunderbolt aimed directly at his opponent.

"Ground!" Iris called out. Neither Ash nor Pikachu were sure what that meant, as Excadrill buried the metal points of its claws and head in the ground. The electricity passed right through the metal and into the ground, not damaging the Pokémon at all, though Ash and Pikachu were certainly shocked.

Iris grinned, pleased and growing confident already. "Now use Dig!" With its body already partway in the ground, Excadrill disappeared under the ground and out of sight almost in the blink of an eye, starting to tunnel through the earth. Pikachu's ears perked up, and he looked around carefully, wary of a sudden assault from underground.

Ash wasn't frazzled by this; he had dealt with plenty of digging Pokémon over the years, and he had devised an effective way of countering it. "Track it with Iron Tail, Pikachu!"

His Pokémon nodded, focusing, and moments later his tail had become as strong and rigid as iron. He started tapping his tail against the ground, regularly and repeatedly, taking careful note of how the ground felt underneath. After a couple of seconds, he felt the ground becoming more hollow and less dense, and he quickly leaped into the air just as his opponent popped out underneath him.

Excadrill looked around curiously, surprised that Pikachu wasn't where he expected him to be. Pikachu took advantage of his opponent's confusion, whirling around and smacking him square in the face with his Iron Tail. Excadrill was knocked to the ground, landing heavily, groaning a bit.

"Great job!" Ash called out, as his Pokémon landed back on the ground, cheeks sparking. Iris was briefly shocked at this turn of events, but quickly shook herself out of it, keeping her cool.

"We're not done yet!" she retorted, as Excadrill got back to his feet. "Fury Swipes!"

Her Pokémon nodded and dashed forward, swiping away at Pikachu with great speed, over and over. Pikachu was able to dodge, slowly backing away, but it took a lot of focus. Eventually he had an opening and leaped backward, giving himself a chance to breathe.

"Pikachu! Iron Tail in the air!" Ash called out. His Pokémon nodded, taking a large leap forward as his tail hardened again, ready for another solid blow. Iris smirked, having been prepared for this.

"Now! Focus Blast!" Excadrill stood up straight, holding its hands out in front of it, and in almost no time at all a blue ball of energy had formed in front of it. He grabbed it and flung it forward, managing to hit Pikachu with perfect aim, taking him by surprise and knocking him to the ground. Ash goggled, amazed that Excadrill could focus so quickly.

"Now finish it!" Iris followed up. "Tunnel Attack!"

Ash cocked his head curiously, not knowing what move she was referring to, as Pikachu started getting to his feet, looking around. Glancing upward, he saw Excadrill diving down at him, claws out; he had no time to react before Excadrill grabbed him with his claws and started digging, both Pokémon disappearing under the surface.

"No! Pikachu!" Ash could do nothing but watch, worried and waiting for the two combatants to resurface. Ten seconds later, Excadrill burst out of the ground, flinging a battered Pikachu into the air. Pikachu landed hard on the ground, rolling for a couple of seconds before coming to a rest and lying on his back; having been dragged headfirst through solid ground had not been a fun experience, and it had left him hopelessly dazed, unable to continue the fight.

Both trainers ran out onto the field, knowing full well that the battle was over. Ash kneeled down next to Pikachu and scooped him up carefully, looking him over to make sure he wasn't too hurt, while a joyful Iris threw her arms around her Excadrill, hugging it tightly.

"You did amazing, Excadrill!" she exclaimed, as her Pokémon beamed and carefully hugged back, not wanting to hurt her with his claws. On the other end of the field, Pikachu was starting to come around, looking up at his trainer with an apologetic look on his face.

Ash smiled down. "That wasn't your fault, Pikachu. You did a great job. They just took us by surprise." He walked forward toward the celebrating pair, starting to grin himself. "I can't believe how strong you two have gotten. That last move was a killer!"

"Thanks, Ash. It's something we thought up while we were in Johto, ages ago." Iris smiled back, standing up fully. "You'll have to do better than that if you want a Legend Badge from me."

He smirked back at her. "Don't you worry. The next time I come through Unova, things are going to go differently." He glanced down at the two Pokémon, as Pikachu tiredly extended his hand; Excadrill extended his as well, and the two shared a fist bump of respect.

"For now, I think we need to get to the Pokémon Center." He glanced up again. "Where are you going, Iris?"

"I didn't really have any plans," she responded. "I was just going to explore as much as I could, and find Dragon Pokémon along the way."

Ash smiled wide. "You could travel with me, if you wanted. It would be like old times."

"I thought you'd never ask." She beamed back at him, thrilled to be traveling with an old friend, before tapping the return button on Excadrill's Poké Ball, sending it back. "So where are we going first?"

"I've got some business here in Lumiose City." The pair started walking toward the park entrance.

"Oh yeah? Are you meeting someone else while you're here?"

Ash shook his head. "No, I just need to register for the League." He looked down a bit. "There is someone I'd like to see, but I don't know if she's even here…"

"She, huh?" Iris smirked knowingly. "Well, I hope you manage to find her." The two continued talking and catching up as they proceeded into downtown Lumiose City.

* * *

Far away from Ash and Iris, in the region of Sinnoh, a young teenage woman was frantically running around her hotel room, trying to get things packed while talking on her phone at the same time.

"…it's leaving in about three hours. I'll stay in Santalune City tonight and you'll see me tomorrow," she spoke distractedly, trying to figure out how to fold an ornate dress so it wouldn't wrinkle in a suitcase. "I'll be there a few days before I'm off again."

"That will be wonderful," an older female voice responded on the other end of the line. "Where will you be going first? They'll want to know."

"They? Who is they?" the girl responded, reaching out and folding her dress as best she could, holding her phone to her ear with her shoulder.

"The Showcase organizers, of course! They're excited to see you back in Kalos."

"They're excited to see _me_?" She tossed the half-folded dress into her suitcase, scouring her room for any missing clothes, locating a stray sock. "You're kidding me. I'm not Aria, I'm not Diantha…"

"Well, you've made a name for yourself, sweetie. You were nearly crowned queen, and then you've been all over the place in Hoenn, Kanto, Sinnoh, Galar… you're selling yourself short."

The girl was a bit flustered, glad that nobody was there to see her blush, as she walked back to her suitcase and tossed the sock in. "Well… tell them I'll be at the Coumarine City Showcase. After that, I'm playing it by ear." She kneeled down and quickly zipped her suitcase closed, lifting it upright and pulling out its handle. "I need to go, Mom. I have to catch my bus to the airport."

"Alright, have a safe flight. Love you, Serena."

"Love you too, Mom."

Serena smiled as she put her phone away, brushing her blond hair out of her face before reaching down and grasping a red-and-black hat, placing it on her head gently. Her heart raced excitedly at the prospect of returning to the region where she had grown up, and the Showcases that she had been preparing for over the past five years. She had barely missed her shot at becoming Kalos Queen the last time she competed, and she had every intention of earning the title this time around.

She grabbed her suitcase and rolled it along as she walked toward her hotel room door, stepping outside and making her way downstairs, eager to get on the bus that would take her home.

* * *

_Author's note: this story is basically a challenge to myself to write my own season of Pokémon. You all can tell me if I'm hitting the appropriate tone and pacing. Thanks for reading!_


	2. Axew's Evolution Problem!

"Don't worry, we'll take good care of your Pokémon. We'll call your name when he's ready to be picked up. It won't take long."

Ash nodded, smiling at Nurse Joy as she held his weary Pikachu in her arms, with Excadrill's Poké Ball resting on a cart with a number of others. "Thanks a lot." She smiled back and turned away, bringing all of the Pokémon into the back rooms of the Lumiose City Pokémon Center.

"Well, that's done," Iris commented next to him, holding Axew gently in her arms. "Now you just need to get registered, right?"

"Right. We can do that at the main desk," Ash responded, as the two started walking toward the front of the building. "Then maybe we can get some food."

She smiled and nodded. "Sounds good to me. I haven't eaten since my plane left Unova." They both proceeded toward the front desk, as Ash glanced toward Iris, his eyes settling on the Pokémon she was holding.

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask," he began. "Both you and Axew wanted him to evolve into his final form, right? How come it's still an Axew?" As he asked the question, he could see Axew sigh and slump further into Iris's arms, almost physically deflating.

Iris sighed as well. "I've been trying, I really have. He's been in plenty of battles, fought lots of Pokémon… for some reason, it's just not working." She gently rubbed Axew's head, trying to comfort him. "I don't know what could be wrong."

"Hmm." Ash pondered this for a moment; he'd heard of plenty of Pokémon who had trouble evolving, but well over five years of waiting was definitely strange. A couple seconds later, he spoke up again. "Maybe we can take him to see Professor Sycamore. I bet he'd have some idea why Axew is having trouble evolving."

"You think so?" Iris's eyebrows raised, intrigued. "Is he an evolution expert or something?"

"Well, Mega Evolution, mainly," he responded. "But he's got to know plenty about regular evolution, right?"

She shrugged. "It's worth a try. I've already asked Professor Juniper in Unova, but she was stumped."

The two of them made it to the Pokémon Center front desk, where Ash handed his Pokédex over to be registered. A minute later, it was handed back to him, and he looked into the screen; all of the badges he previously had acquired had been removed from the device's memory. He was starting over from scratch.

"Well, it's official," he muttered. "I'm competing in the Kalos League again." He smiled to himself, as the thought of another journey started to excite him all over again.

Next to him, Iris grinned teasingly. "And you've already lost your first battle against a Gym Leader. You'll have to step it up."

Ash laughed. "Oh, I will. I'll have those Gym Badges before you know it!" He put his Pokédex away as the two sat down, waiting for their Pokémon to be healed so they could go and eat.

* * *

One hour later, the pair were walking into Professor Sycamore's lab, their stomachs full and their Pokémon back in their possession. The receptionist at the front desk smiled at the two of them and waved; they'd been prepared, as Ash had called ahead.

"You're here to see the professor, right?" she asked, as Ash and Iris approached the desk, Pikachu sitting on Ash's shoulder. "He's going to be a few minutes late, but he says you should go right on in. One of our resident Pokémon doctors will take a look at your Axew, to start." They nodded, thanking her, as she directed them down the hall to their right.

"Pokémon doctor, huh…" Ash muttered to himself, a little lost in thought.

Iris glanced toward him, cocking her head. "What are you thinking about, Ash?"

"Oh, nothing," he responded. "Just thinking about someone I used to know, who was studying to be a Pokémon doctor. I wonder if he ever became one."

"You don't stay caught up with your friends very much, do you? First this mystery girl, now this doctor…"

"Hey, come on," Ash shot back, annoyed. "I just… well…" He realized he didn't have a satisfactory answer prepared, and Iris laughed as his words faltered.

"One of these days I'm going to teach you how a phone works," she teased, smirking. "They're easy to use, trust me."

"Yeah, yeah…" he grumbled in response, as the two of them walked through a door into the doctor's room. They quickly glanced around, seeing a number of chairs, small tools and larger machines for diagnosing more serious conditions. They stepped in further, looking for the person who was going to take a look at Axew, when they suddenly heard footsteps from behind them.

"Sorry about that," a male voice spoke, as the two turned around. "I just took a second to…" He quickly stopped speaking as his eyes focused on Ash, recognition immediately flashing across his face. Ash's face lit up as he recognized this man's voice, darker skin, and perpetually squinting eyes.

"Brock!" he called out, running up to him, beaming. "I don't believe it! What are you doing here in Kalos?" The two shared a high five before Pikachu leaped cheerfully over into Brock's arms.

"Ash! Pikachu!" Brock responded, holding the Pokémon gently, looking as surprised and pleased as he could without opening his eyes properly. "I've been studying Mega Evolution with Professor Sycamore! It's something I'm going to need to know if I'm going to be the best doctor I can be." He stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. "What about you? Is this your first time here?"

Ash shook his head. "I challenged the Kalos League a few years back, and now I'm trying it again. This time I'm going to win!"

"That sounds like you, alright." Brock smiled as he let go of Pikachu, who climbed back onto Ash's shoulder. He adjusted his white doctor's coat, which he was wearing over his normal clothes, in an attempt to look professional. "It's been too long since we hung out. You'll have to fill me in on everything that's going on!"

"So will you! When did you get to Kalos? Is Olivia here with you?"

Brock shook his head. "She's still in Alola. I'm going to visit her when…"

"Ahem." The two boys abruptly stopped talking, turning toward a slightly irritated Iris. "I know you two need to catch up, but…" She held up her Axew, who was also looking a bit impatient.

"Right…" Brock rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry about that. Let's take a look at your Axew…"

* * *

Ten minutes later, Axew was seated in a smaller-sized doctor's chair, as Brock was finishing his examination, kneeling down close. Ash and Iris stood nearby, on opposite sides, watching as he stood up; Pikachu sat on top of Ash's head, similarly curious.

"Well, the good news is that Axew appears to be perfectly healthy," he stated, taking his stethoscope out of his ears. "The bad news is we're not any closer to figuring out why he hasn't evolved. If there is a problem, I don't think it's a physical one."

Iris groaned. "Well, what else could it be, then?"

"Does that mean it could be psychological?" Ash wondered aloud.

"Maybe," Brock responded, walking to a nearby bowl and taking a Poffin out of it. "It might be some sort of mental block, preventing him from evolving. Or he could just be a late bloomer." He walked back and offered the Poffin to Axew, as a reward for being a good patient; the Pokémon happily accepted and started munching on it.

"Five years late…?" She sounded almost despondent.

"It's possible." Brock shrugged. "Do you have any ideas, Professor?" Ash and Iris blinked and turned toward the entrance, neither of them having noticed the lanky, wild-haired Professor Sycamore walking in the door.

"It's hard to say," the professor responded, walking closer. "Did you find any physical abnormalities, Brock?"

"Nope, none at all."

He smirked a bit. "Figures that you'd get a puzzle like this on your last day, eh?" He glanced back at the others, as Axew finished off his Poffin. "Well, it could be a handful of things; it's not that anything is necessarily wrong with him. Some Pokémon may just need a compelling reason to evolve. Perhaps Axew hasn't found his yet."

Iris sighed, looking down at the floor, disappointed that she had gotten her hopes up yet again. Ash frowned, glancing at her, before looking back at Sycamore. "Is there any way to find out for sure?"

"Well, we can gather some more data, eliminate some possibilities, narrow down the causes…" the professor offered. "In order to do that, though, you'd have to leave Axew with me for a little while. A couple of weeks, perhaps. Is that something you'd like to do?"

Iris looked up, taking a long look at her Pokémon; Axew looked terrified at the idea, having never been apart from his trainer since they had met. Eventually she stepped closer, reaching out and lifting Axew out of the chair, holding him close again. "Thanks, Professor, but I don't think so. I don't want to leave him here if I don't know it's going to be worth it."

He nodded, understanding. "Well, just keep battling with him and getting him experience, I suppose. Sorry we couldn't be of any more help."

She nodded and offered a quiet thanks, walking out the door. Ash watched her for a moment before turning back to Brock and Professor Sycamore to say his goodbyes, as Iris walked into the lobby, looking down at her newly-disappointed Pokémon.

"It's alright, Axew," she offered quietly. "I'm not giving up. We're going to get you evolved into your final form one day, I promise." He sighed, not too optimistic, and admittedly she wasn't very optimistic either. Even if they did manage to get him to evolve, it would have been nearly eight years after he hatched before he became a Fraxure. How much longer would it take for him to become a Haxorus?

He eventually turned around and reached upward toward her head; taking the hint, she lifted him up to the top of her head, where he crawled into her hair, which was one of his favorite perches. She felt him getting nestled in just as Ash and Pikachu walked back into the lobby.

"Sorry that didn't work out, Iris."

"It's alright, Ash. It was a good idea." She glanced back at him, forcing herself to put on a more cheerful face. "Ready to go?"

He nodded, and the two of them walked outside, starting to discuss travel plans. They had just agreed to stay the night in Lumiose City when they became aware of a voice calling out to them.

"Hey, guys, wait up!" They both turned around to see Brock running toward them, wearing a large backpack instead of his doctor's coat.

"Brock? What is it?" Ash inquired, curious. "Did we forget something?"

"Didn't you hear Professor Sycamore say it was my last day?" Brock answered, grinning. "I'm all done with my studies under him. I was going to travel through Kalos for a while before heading to Alola."

"Really? That's awesome!" Ash grinned wide. "Well, now you have to come with us, don't you? My old traveling partner!" He glanced back. "Iris, you don't mind if he comes with us, do you?"

She smirked a bit. "That depends. You don't snore, do you?"

"If I do, nobody's told me." He grinned. "I can cook pretty well, though."

"Oh yeah?" She glanced toward Ash. "How does his cooking compare to Cilan's?"

"It's at least as good," he answered. "Maybe even a little better."

Iris immediately extended her hand. "Good to have you with us, Brock!" He laughed and shook her hand, before turning and receiving a fist pound from an excited Ash, and one from his Pikachu as well.

"This will be great; just like old times. Where are we going first? Are you going to challenge the Gym here in Lumiose City?"

Ash shook his head. "The Gym Leader here won't battle you unless you have at least four Badges already. We'll have to come back another time." His mind wandered back to Clemont, the Lumiose Gym Leader, and his little sister Bonnie, as well as all the time they had spent together. He knew he could easily get in and battle now if he wanted, based on their friendship, but Ash wanted to show Clemont the respect he deserved.

"Makes sense." Brock nodded. "So what's your plan?"

Ash pulled out his Pokédex in response, flipping through screens. "I was just thinking about that. I was planning on going to Coumarine City first, to get a Plant Badge, but it looks like Route 13 is closed down, for some reason." He zoomed his screen in. "So instead, we're going to go down Route 14, toward Laverre City."

"But we're going to stay in Lumiose City for tonight," Iris chipped in, glancing up at Brock. "The two of you can spend some time catching up before we leave."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Brock watched as Ash put his Pokédex away, and the two of them started talking about what they had been up to over the past five years. Iris smiled and listened closely, wanting to learn about their new travel companion, as the three sought out a place to stay.

* * *

Elsewhere in Lumiose City, a specialty restaurant was starting to wind down for the day. As soon as the last customer left, the owner walked up to the front door and turned the hanging sign on it from OPEN to CLOSED.

"Another slow day," he muttered to himself, before turning back toward the three employees that were working in the kitchen and behind the counter. "Alright, you guys, clear down. You know the drill."

"Yes, boss!" the employees responded in unison, moving from their current posts and starting to clean up the dining room. He watched them for a second before walking up to the register and opening it to take out the cash, trusting them to take care of things in the dining room and kitchen. He had taken on all three of them at once years ago, having found them down on their luck, unemployed and without a place to stay. At the time it seemed like a gamble, but they turned out to be great workers; they were skilled cooks, they always jumped on any task no matter how small, and they had a strong deference to authority.

As he collected the cash and walked into the back, his eyes wandered over to the shortest of the three. No matter how many times he looked, the employee never quite looked normal to him, due to his size and his strangely shaped face. It was almost as if he was some sort of Pokémon, wearing lots of layers, but he didn't know of any Pokémon who could talk. He shrugged it off and continued into the back room.

One of the workers, a woman with long red hair, spoke up as she was wiping down tables. "It's funny... I never saw myself doing work like this for the rest of my life. It seemed so embarrassing, but really, it's not as bad as I imagined it would be."

"Speak for yourself, Jessie," replied another, a man of the same age with shoulder-length blue hair, as he swept the floor. "We never had to clean up messes and sweep floors when we were with Team Rocket."

"Yeah, we did," the shortest of the three replied, collecting dishes, his whiskers starting to peek out from the hooded clothes he was wearing. "It just felt less demeaning then."

"Everything was better then, before we ran out of second chances." Jessie sighed, laying on top of the table she just finished cleaning. "Now my only hope is that some movie director comes by, finds this waitress down on her luck and makes her a star…" A dreamy look came across her face as she closed her eyes, imagining her future success. The other two stopped and watched her for a moment.

"I think she might be losing it, James."

"You know she's always been like this, Meowth," the sweeper replied. "Just leave her be. She'll come back down to Earth soon." Meowth sighed and moved to start collecting more plates. Glancing out the window, something caught his eye that nearly made him drop what he was holding.

"Guys! Look outside! Quick!"

The other two turned their heads toward the front windows, just as a trio of teenagers walked by on the other side of the street. All three of them immediately recognized one of the three, with black hair, a blue vest, a red hat, and a Pikachu on his shoulder.

"It can't be!" Jessie exclaimed. "It's the twerp! And he's got a brigade of twerps with him!"

"What is he doing here?" James wondered. "He doesn't live here, does he?"

"What does it matter?" Meowth turned back toward the other two. "This is opportunity knocking, you two! That's our ticket back into Team Rocket out there! We nab that Pikachu and give it to the boss, and he's bound to let us back in!"

Jessie's eyes widened, sparkling at the thought. "Back with Team Rocket… I didn't dare dream…!"

"Well, I'll do anything to rejoin the team!" James followed up, turning and running behind the counter. He kneeled down and lifted up one of the loose floor tiles, revealing a box that had been long since stashed away. He pulled it out and placed it on the counter, opening it up and taking out a pair of gray and black outfits with a large red R on the front. They were a little worse for wear, dirty and torn in a couple places, but to the three of them they looked like royal tapestries.

"This is it!" Jessie ran up and grabbed her outfit, holding it close. "Finally, our fortunes are turning around!"

The three of them excitedly ran out the door, ready to grasp their futures with both hands and reclaim their dreams. Seconds later, they ran back inside to finish cleaning up the restaurant before departing again, hot on Pikachu's trail.


	3. Welcome Home, Serena!

In a small town in southern Kalos, an older woman with short brown hair was tending to her garden, trimming some weeds while humming to herself. The woman's name, Grace, could be seen on her mailbox, each of the letters having been cut out of various magazines and pasted onto the side of it by a young girl many years ago.

As she worked, she heard her pet Rhyhorn slowly walking up closer to her; it didn't sound like he was grazing in the yard, as it often did. It walked right up to her side and used its nose to gently nudge her arm, making a sound partway between a roar and a mewl.

"Hi, Rhyhorn." She reached out and gently pet its horn, absentmindedly, before going back to her weeding. She expected it to turn and walk away, but it nudged her arm again, a little more forcefully, making a louder sound than before, clearly wanting her attention.

"Rhyhorn, sweetie, I'm busy…" she muttered, keeping her focus and not looking away. She sighed as the Pokémon nudged her arm once more, and she nearly pushed it away before she heard a giggling sound, which stopped her right where she was. Looking over at Rhyhorn, she could see the arms and legs of someone riding on top of it. She glanced upward, surprised, and found herself looking into the beaming face of her daughter, Serena.

"Hi, Mom."

* * *

"What would you like to drink?" Grace asked, as the pair entered the kitchen. "I have water, juice, I have a tea kettle ready to go…"

"Tea sounds nice," Serena answered, smiling and sitting at the kitchen table. She glanced outside and watched as her three Pokémon stretched out their limbs and got some exercise; Pancham and Sylveon played with Rhyhorn, while her recently-evolved Delphox stood nearby and watched, amused.

"I see you've kept your hair short. Did you ever end up growing it back out?"

She nodded in response. "I tried going long again while I was in Kanto, but I ended up cutting it again. It reminded me too much of when I was younger."

"That's fair," Grace answered, walking to the stove, where she had a kettle of water simmering on low heat. "I think it looks better like this, anyhow." She turned up the heat under the kettle.

Serena smiled, turning a bit pink. "How has everything been here?"

"Oh, you know how Vaniville Town is." Her mother leaned against the counter near the stove, waiting for the water to boil. "I don't think anything has happened here since you last left. It's the same quiet, sleepy town it always is."

"Well, that's perfect for me," Serena responded. "After the whirlwind that was Sinnoh, I could use a few days' peace and quiet."

Grace grinned wide. "That bad, huh?"

"I got my schedule completely wrong. I had to practically run through the entire region to make it to all the Contests I wanted to participate in. I didn't have a single day to relax." She sighed. "I feel like I lost ten pounds while I was there."

"You're lucky you didn't make yourself sick." Her mother glanced over her, uncomfortably noting the weight Serena had lost, as the tea kettle came to a very quick boil. "You just take it easy while you're here. We'll get some good food in you and you'll be back in top shape before you know it." She reached over and turned off the stove, grabbing the kettle and a pair of tea cups.

"I've been craving your food for months, Mom." Serena grinned. "And thankfully, my schedule here won't be so hectic. I'll have plenty of time between each showcase to travel and enjoy Kalos."

Grace poured hot water into each of the cups, adding a tea bag to each one, before handing one to her daughter. "Are you planning to see your friends while you're here?"

"Definitely." Serena held her tea cup carefully, taking the string of the tea bag and moving it up and down in the water. "I've already told Shauna that I'm here in Vaniville Town, and we're going to spend a lot of time together before I leave. She's competing too, but we've agreed to not go to the same showcases." She took a sip of her tea, a bit too early, wincing at the heat.

"You don't want to get in each other's way, hm? That's sweet."

She nodded. "We're going to see each other at the Master Class showcase at the end of the season, if we make it." She blew on her tea to cool it down. "And at some point I'll stop by Lumiose City so I can see Bonnie and Clemont."

Grace nodded as well, taking a sip of her tea. "What about the other boy you were traveling with? The one with the black hair and the hat?"

"Ash? He doesn't live in Kalos," she replied quickly. "Even if he did, he's always traveling to catch Pokémon and compete in conferences. Who knows if we'd ever run into each other." She quickly went in for another sip of tea, despite its temperature, in an attempt to hide the smile that emerged on her face whenever she thought about him, even five years later.

"Oh, really?" Grace replied. "That's too bad, I liked him." She took another sip of her tea, as Serena went for an even deeper drink of hers, now needing to hide a light blush. "Well, if he's anywhere in Kalos, he's sure to find out that you'll be in Coumarine City."

Serena glanced up. "What do you mean by that?"

Her mother smiled. "You haven't watched any television since you got in yesterday, have you?"

"No, but what does…" Her eyes widened, as her mind put the pieces together. "You aren't saying what I think you're saying…"

Grace grinned wide. "Come on into the living room. I'll show you what I mean."

* * *

Three minutes later, Serena was seated at their computer, watching the screen with wide eyes, with Grace standing behind her. On the screen, an advertisement for the Coumarine City Showcase was playing, featuring a number of performers that were slated to be there. Roughly ten seconds into the video, Serena could see a picture of herself appear, next to her name.

"They're playing these all over Kalos, starting today, since this is the kickoff event of the performance season," her mother explained. "They were just able to squeeze you in at the last second, after our phone call."

"I… I can't believe this," Serena spoke quietly, as she watched herself appear in a montage with the other performers, the ad coming to an end. "They're putting me on TV? This is…" A thought occurred to her. "Did I even consent to this?"

"Apparently, you did," Grace answered. "It was in the paperwork you signed before the last Master Class." She rested her hands on the back of the computer chair. "They told me when they called me. They were asking if I had any more recent pictures of you, so I sent one."

Her daughter nodded lightly, still dumbfounded and in disbelief, not looking away from the computer. "This just… can't be right…" she muttered. "I'm just some girl… I'm not famous, I'm not important…"

"Just some girl?" her mother replied, leaning down and letting her arms slide around her daughter's shoulders. "Who was the person who put on that performance in Lumiose City after the Team Flare debacle? Who brought smiles back to everyone's faces when they really needed it?"

"Mom…" Her voice wavered a bit, as she leaned back into her mother's embrace.

"You're a very special girl, Serena," Grace continued, holding her tighter. "There's magic in your smile. You can lift people up with your energy; you can change their lives for the better. That's what makes you important."

Serena closed her eyes, not knowing what to say in response, still struggling to mentally process how quickly everything was happening. Her mother stayed quiet as well, letting Serena take the time she needed, happy to have her back home and more proud than she could say. Neither of them said a word for several long moments, but through this gentle, loving contact, mother and daughter were able to convey everything that needed to be said.

"I thought I would be twenty-five when I got to this point, not fifteen," Serena finally spoke after a little while, her eyes still closed. She grinned a bit, becoming less dumbfounded and more amused. "Does this make me a teen idol?"

"Oh gosh, perish the thought," her mother replied, laughing. "Please tell me you're not going to become a diva and let it go to your head."

"I'll do my best." Serena sighed happily. "I guess this means I need a new outfit. I don't think I can use the same old things I wore in Sinnoh. I'm starting to outgrow them."

Grace grinned wider than she had all day. "I've been waiting for you to say that, actually…"

"Why were you…" her daughter began, before realizing the answer to her own question, her eyes opening. "Oh Mom, no, I don't think I can take any more surprises today."

"Last one, promise. Come on up to your room."

* * *

Minutes later, Serena walked into her old bedroom upstairs, eyes quickly focusing on her mother, who was standing in front of her closet, hands about to open it.

"Now, I know you don't like my fashion sense," Grace began, "but I really think this is going to be perfect for you. I had it custom made. Give it a second, then honestly let me know what you think."

She opened the closet door and stepped aside, and Serena gasped as she saw what was inside, covering her mouth with her hands. Hanging inside the closet was effectively a knee-length white kimono, with blue floral designs intricately woven into it. The outfit also included a pair of white shorts, as well as a large blue flower attached to a hair clip.

"Oh my gosh, Mom…"

Grace grinned wide at her daughter's reaction, knowing she'd hit this out of the park. "It was originally full-length, but I asked them to make it shorter, so you could still dance in it."

Her daughter continued to stare at the outfit, eyes following the lines, taking in all of the subtle details. "Mom, it's beautiful…"

Grace smiled warmly, walking right up next to her daughter. "I'm glad you like it, sweetie. You're going to be the prettiest and classiest girl on that stage."

Feeling her mother's presence next to her, Serena quickly turned around and wrapped her arms tightly around her, burying her face in her mother's shoulder, feeling tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "Thank you so much, Mom. Thank you for everything you've done. I can't tell you how much this means to me."

"Of course, sweetie," Grace replied, holding her daughter tightly, sliding her fingers into her hair. "You deserve this. If you're going to go out and chase your dream, you deserve to be as prepared as possible."

Serena stayed quiet, not letting go, touched by the amount of support her mother was showing. Five years ago, Grace was skeptical of her dream of being a performer, not believing her to have the internal strength to go through with it. Now, her mother was her biggest cheerleader, always encouraging and supporting her every step of the way. The two stayed like this for a few moments before Grace spoke again.

"Serena, I had a question I wanted to ask you, and I want you to answer truthfully." Serena nodded, looking back, still lightly keeping her arms around her, as Grace continued. "Do you remember the Skiddo race the two of us had, way back when?"

Her daughter nodded again. "Of course I remember."

"If you had lost that race, would you have kept your word? Would you have come home and become a Rhyhorn racer, and given up your dream of being a performer, like you said you would?"

Serena thought it over for a second, not having considered it before. She didn't have to think about it for long, and she quickly shook her head. "No."

Her mother grinned wide, pleased. "That's my girl."

Serena smiled back, resting her head against her mother's collar gently. "I'm going to do it, Mom. I'm going to become Kalos Queen. I'm going to make you proud of me."

Grace leaned down and gently kissed her daughter on the top of her head. "You've become such a strong, confident girl, Serena. I can't imagine being more proud of you than I am now." The two stayed like this for another few moments, before Grace took a step back.

"I should get working on some lunch. I imagine you're at least as hungry as I am."

Serena smiled and nodded. "That sounds great."

Her mother smiled back. "You stay here and rest a bit. I'll call you down when it's time to eat."

She stepped back and left the room, as Serena sat down on her bed, appreciating the familiar feeling of the mattress underneath her. She looked back at her brand new performance outfit, grinning from ear to ear, before she lay back on the bed and closed her eyes, sighing happily. She listened to the sound of her Pokémon playing outside, as well as the footsteps of her mother walking downstairs, letting her mind empty out all of its stresses and worries about the upcoming showcases.

She let her mind wander, thinking about being back in Kalos, and she found her thoughts coming back to Ash, as they sometimes did when she thought about home. She pictured herself going out and finding him, after she had been crowned Kalos Queen. She imagined how she would show him how she had grown, and what she had done with the confidence and guidance that he had given her so long ago, for which she would be forever grateful. She wanted him to be as proud of her as her mother was now.

Serena smiled warmly, feeling her cheeks flush red as she imagined the various ways in which their reunion might play out. She let her imagination go on for a bit before stopping. There would be plenty of time for him later; for now, she wanted to just enjoy the feeling of being home again, as if she was a young girl with no responsibilities. She rolled over onto her side, eventually drifting off for a quick nap.


	4. Goom and Doom!

In a shaded area on Route 14, between Lumiose City and Laverre City, there sat a small lake which found itself with a bit of company. Iris was swimming back and forth through it, doing laps, getting in some early-morning exercise in the manner she enjoyed most. She was alone, having headed off herself, leaving Ash and Brock at camp; there weren't many Pokémon around, either, as many of them were scared away by the noise.

Once she'd swam enough laps, she headed to the edge of the water and pulled herself out, right next to her towel and her large overshirt. She sat on the edge of the lake, feet still in the water, taking a moment to rest before starting to wring out her hair. She reached for her towel, wanting to at least get her undershirt and shorts dried off before she headed back, before she noticed a strange sensation on her leg. She held it straight out and glanced down, expecting to see some algae covering it; instead, she found herself face-to-face with what looked like a giant purple-and-white slug with green cheeks, clinging to her shin.

"Gyah! Get off, get off!" She started violently kicking her leg, trying to dislodge the Pokémon; it attempted to hold on as best it could, but it eventually went flying back into the lake. Iris quickly stood up, moving a couple feet away from the water, as the Pokémon reemerged, looking confused and upset.

"Don't spook me like that!" she called out to it. "I thought you were some kind of giant leech! Find someone else to cling to!"

The Pokémon looked hurt by her words, frowning at her and focusing. Iris started to turn away, when she felt a few drops of water falling on her. Looking up curiously, she saw a storm cloud forming just a couple of feet above her head, the water starting to come down harder.

"Rain Dance…?" she wondered to herself, recognizing this as a Pokémon move. She didn't have much time to think before a bolt of lightning shot out of it, zapping her where she stood. She stood frozen in place for a moment, a shocked and pained expression on her face, before falling forward into the lake, stiff as a board. Satisfied, the Pokémon turned and swam off.

* * *

Back at their campsite near the main trail of Route 14, Ash was sitting down on a picnic blanket, hungry, as Brock set out breakfast plates for the three of them. They quickly dug into their meals, while Pikachu and Axew sat nearby, eating their own small bowls of Pokémon food.

Hearing footsteps behind him, Ash turned around to greet Iris, but paused upon seeing her, eyebrows raising. She was soaked from head to toe, her hair frizzed and sticking out in every direction, and her face bore the irritated look of someone who would bite the head off of anyone who talked to them.

"Whoa, Iris, what happened to you?" She growled in response, taking a seat next to Ash and accepting a plate of food from Brock wordlessly, starting to tuck in.

Brock watched her for a moment, intensely curious, but knowing that asking her about her current state might be hazardous to his health. He eventually decided to risk it. "Did you… have a good swim?"

Iris grumbled, swallowing her mouthful of scrambled eggs. "It was fine, until I got zapped by a Rain Dance from a giant slug."

"A giant slug?" Ash wondered aloud, thinking about what species of Pokémon might fit that description. "Was it colored purple and white?"

"Mm." She nodded in response, taking another bite of her breakfast. Behind her, Pikachu had finished its food, and was now wandering through the grass, tracking the movement of some small critter.

"That sounds like a Goomy to me. Why didn't you capture it, Iris?"

"I told you, Ash, I'm only here to catch Dragon-type Pokémon." She took a drink from her water bottle.

"A Goomy is a Dragon-type, though," he responded, reaching for his Pokédex.

Iris glanced over at him, in disbelief. "That's a joke, right?" He held his Pokédex out toward her in response, which was displaying the Pokémon that had just shocked her.

"Goomy, the Soft Tissue Pokémon," the device stated mechanically. "The weakest Dragon-type Pokémon, it lives in damp, shady places, so its body doesn't dry out."

Her eyes widened in shock. "Are you kidding me?! That little booger is a Dragon-type?!" She leaned in closer, as the device showed the evolution from Goomy, to Sliggoo, to the goofy but imposing Goodra.

"I thought you knew all of the Dragon types in Kalos," Ash responded, putting his Pokédex away again.

"I did! Or I should! I just assumed that thing was… argh!" She slapped her forehead. "Now I have to go and catch it!" She quickly shoved the rest of her breakfast in her mouth all at once before hopping up to her feet, grabbing her Poké Balls before running back in the direction of the lake.

Ash and Brock watched her go for a few moments, before a sharp cry drew their attention elsewhere. Ash's eyes widened as he saw Pikachu lying on his back, foot in the air; the grass nearby started to shift, as some small Pokémon started scurrying away.

"Pikachu! Are you okay?" Ash quickly hopped up and ran over, kneeling next to his Pokémon, whose pained expression was giving way to a sickly one. He reached down and lifted Pikachu up, holding him in his arms, recognizing the telltale signs of being poisoned. He quickly shifted his gaze toward the creature running away; most of its body was hidden by the grass, but a look at its scorpion-like tail quickly told Ash that it was a Skorupi.

"Brock, do we have any Antidotes?"

Brock stood up. "Give me one second, I'll grab one." He quickly ducked into his tent and rummaged through his pack, emerging with a small bottle in his hand, which he tossed over. Ash caught it easily, popping the top off and gently spraying his Pokémon with its contents. Once the bottle was empty, he set it aside and continued holding Pikachu gently, waiting for the effects to kick in.

A minute later, Pikachu sat up, looking much healthier than he had before. He hopped out of Ash's arms, eyes following the trail the wild Skorupi had taken, looking as angry as Iris had been just moments before. Ash sighed in relief.

"Good, you're feeling better." He followed Pikachu's gaze, trying to find the scorpion Pokémon that had just run off. He knew that a Fairy-type Gym Leader was waiting for him in Laverre City, and having a Poison-type Pokémon on his side could give him an edge. "Want to get some payback, Pikachu? Let's go and capture it!"

Pikachu nodded, getting down on all fours and starting to follow the Skorupi like a bloodhound. Ash stood up and followed, turning back to thank Brock for breakfast, which he was carrying part of in his hand. Brock watched the two of them head out, before looking around at the empty camp, with Axew as his only remaining company. He shrugged, before continuing to eat his own breakfast at his leisure.

* * *

Back at the lake, Iris was sitting high up on a tree branch, scanning for any signs of the Goomy from before. A handful of other Pokémon had arrived while she was gone, swimming and drinking, which made it difficult to find the Pokémon she was looking for.

After several long minutes of waiting, she spied a Goomy sliding out of the lake, filled almost to bursting with water. She hopped up and started following it, practically gliding from one tree branch to the next, as comfortable traveling through the tree tops as she was on the ground. She kept her Poké Balls at the ready, wanting to take the first opportunity to capture this little thing.

After following it for a minute, Iris was surprised to find another Goomy on the trail. Unlike the one she was following, however, this one looked like it was withering away, almost completely dried out. The Goomy she had been following crawled right up to it, spitting out some of its water to try and revive it. The desiccated Goomy regained a little bit of strength from this, starting to move toward the lake, albeit very slowly.

She watched with wide eyes as the plump Goomy continued along its path, moving to another dried-out Pokémon, then another. She started running ahead of it, following the trail of weak Goomys, until she eventually found a large collection of them seated in a large, empty depression in the ground, at the base of a tall cliff. Her eyes widened as she saw the state of these Pokémon; there were maybe two dozen of them, all in varying states of drying out, and some of them even looked close to perishing.

"Oh my gosh…" She quickly climbed down her current tree, wanting to get a closer look. She ran down into the large depression, right up to the small colony of Goomys, kneeling down next to them. "You poor things, what happened here?" She took a quick look around; there was no grass at all in this giant hole, just dry and cracked soil. Iris quickly realized that this used to be a lake, but something had caused it to completely dry out.

A high-pitched cry from nearby caused her to jump and quickly stand; looking toward it, she saw the hydrated Goomy from before, glaring at her. It had used up nearly all its water and was looking very tired, but it was still determined to protect its family at any cost.

"Hey, hold on!" Iris waved her hands, trying to head off a potential conflict. "I'm not here to fight, honest." The Goomy kept glaring at her as she slowly walked forward, keeping her hands visible, not wanting to appear as a threat. "Something happened to your home, didn't it? That's why you were traveling to the other lake."

The Goomy made a sad sound in response, letting its guard down a bit, and it looked upward toward the top of the cliff. Iris turned around, following its gaze, and was surprised to see a makeshift dam, made out of wood and mud.

"A dam? Who built that?" She walked out of the former lake and up to the cliff face, reaching out and starting to climb it, almost effortlessly. Less than a minute later, she had managed to make it to the top, finding an overflowing creek that had turned into its own pond. She could see the surface of the water being disturbed, as if a number of Pokémon were swimming underneath. She frowned and walked over to the dam, poking at it with her foot; it mostly held together, but she could feel a bit of movement. Whoever made this, it wasn't a professional job.

"Hm… I wonder if…" She started kicking it a bit harder, wondering if she could dislodge it on her own, not particularly concerned with how it had gotten there in the first place. As she worked on it, she failed to notice several large Pokémon emerging from the water, walking toward her. After a few more kicks, she noticed the large shadows that were surrounding her; she quickly whirled around, eyes widening as she found herself face-to-face with four large, angry Pangoros.

"I…" She took a step back, nervous. "I guess this is your dam, huh?"

The Pokémon growled and stepped forward, not pleased.

* * *

Elsewhere, Ash and Pikachu were continuing to stalk Skorupi, much less stealthily than Iris. They were moving as quickly as they could without being too loud, not wanting it to be scared off as they followed the subtle trail it had left behind. After a few minutes, they both stopped in their tracks as they found it slowly trying to climb a tree.

"There it is," Ash whispered, glancing down at Pikachu. "You ready? Hit it with Electroweb!"

His Pokémon nodded, creeping forward as he formed a ball of electricity on his tail. Once he was close enough, he whirled around and flung the energy ball toward the Skorupi; the ball turned into a web of electricity, which perfectly hit its target, wrapping around both the tree and the Pokémon before shocking both. The Skorupi cried out as it was jolted, falling back down to the ground as the web dissipated.

"Perfect shot!" Ash exclaimed, grabbing an empty Poké Ball from his pack. He pressed the button on the front to enlarge it, before hurling it at the stunned Pokémon. Skorupi managed to quickly come to its senses, however, and burrowed underground as fast as it could; the Poké Ball missed its target, rolling limply along the ground.

Pikachu's ears perked up, and he looked around carefully for any signs of his opponent. He yelped as a stinger shot out of the ground right in front of him, causing him to jump backwards, not wanting another dose of poison. Seconds later, the tail emerged again right next to him, and he ran across the field, wanting to put as much distance between them as possible.

"Use Iron Tail, Pikachu!" Ash reminded him. His Pokémon nodded, focusing and turning his tail to iron before turning around and tapping it against the ground. A few seconds later, he frowned and shook his head, stopping the tapping; the ground here was too moist, and he couldn't get any useful information from it.

Ash gritted his teeth. "Well… be on your guard. It's not faster than you. Just focus."

Pikachu nodded, getting down on all fours and focusing as best he could. He closed his eyes, all of his other senses focused on feeling out the location of his opponent. Seconds later, he could feel the tiniest of vibrations near his feet, which quickly grew in intensity. At the last possible second, he jumped back as the tail emerged for a third time; he whirled around and used his Iron Tail to hook the stinger skillfully, yanking a very surprised Skorupi out of the ground. Pikachu continued spinning around for a second, flinging the Skorupi off of his tail and sending it slamming into a tree; it fell back onto the ground, stunned for the second time.

"One more try!" Ash grabbed another Poké Ball and flung it as quickly as he could; this time, the ball made contact, and the Skorupi was turned into energy and absorbed by the contraption. The Poké Ball fell to the ground, starting to rock back and forth as the Pokémon inside struggled to get free. After a few tense seconds, the ball settled down, and the button on the front stopped glowing, indicating a successful capture.

"Yes! We got it!" Both Ash and Pikachu cheered, as the trainer ran forward and grabbed both the spent Poké Ball and the newly occupied one. "Our first new Pokémon in Kalos. Great job, Pikachu!" Pikachu climbed up Ash's side onto his shoulder, looking down at the ball containing his new companion, before Ash pocketed it. "Let's get back to camp. If Iris is still gone, maybe we can get a little bit of training in."

He turned around and started walking before quickly stopping again, looking around at the unfamiliar terrain. In his haste to catch Skorupi, he had not paid any attention at all to where he had been going.

"Uh… do you remember how to get back, Pikachu?"

* * *

Iris kept her gaze focused on the four angry Pokémon in front of her, looking for some sort of opening, acutely aware of the steep cliff that was right behind her. All she needed was a bit of time and space to deploy her own Pokémon, and she'd stand a fighting chance; right now, though, that wasn't looking very likely.

One of the four Pangoro growled and charged toward her; thinking quickly, she jumped to the side out of its way, then dove forward through the gap that had just formed in their line. Safely behind them, she started running to get some distance, grabbing a Poké Ball and turning around to throw it behind her.

"Go, Dragonite!" The Poké Ball hit the ground, bursting open, and a seven-foot, orange-colored dragon Pokémon emerged from it. His gaze immediately focused on the four opponents in front of them; while he was larger than any one of them, four at once was definitely going to be a challenge.

"Slow them down, Dragonite! Ice Beam!"

Her Pokémon reared back for a second before shooting a light-blue beam of ice at all four of them, sweeping across. Having already been covered in water, the Pangoros felt their fur freezing in place, slowing their movements dramatically as they fought against the ice.

"Great work!" Iris cheered. "Now let's take them out, one by one! Thunder Punch!"

Dragonite grunted, using his wings to lift himself up into the air, before charging forward. His fist crackled with electricity as he slammed it into the gut of one of his opponents, sending it flying off the cliff, where it crashed into the trees below. It wasn't badly hurt, but it wouldn't be rejoining the fight.

Dragonite hmphed, turning toward the other three, when one of them managed to break itself free of its icy bonds. It reached out and grabbed Dragonite by the arm, surprising him; seconds later, the other two broke free as well, each grabbing a leg. Iris gasped as she watched him try to break free, but the Pangoros roared and started running forward, slamming Dragonite headfirst into a nearby tree.

Dazed, he started flapping his wings as hard as he could, trying to lift off again and create some distance. All three Pangoros held on tightly, not wanting him to escape, starting to drag him slowly back toward the makeshift pond. With one mighty collective pull, the three managed to yank him down into the water, where they started raining their fists down upon him.

"No!" Iris ran forward, panicked, wanting to help get him out of their grasp. One of the Pangoros noticed her approach and swung its arm around, backhanding her and sending her flying backward. She landed on the ground with a thud, groaning in pain as she sat up, watching the beating unfold. Her mind raced as she thought of how to save her Pokémon, eyes traveling from him, to the water, to the dam. Her eyebrows raised as she got an idea, and she ran forward again, cupping her hands to her mouth.

"Dragonite! Dash forward with Dragon Rush!"

Dragonite managed to hear her command, focusing as best he could, a blue aura starting to envelop him. His assailants paused for the briefest of moments, curious, giving him the opening he needed to dash forward through the water like a rocket. He used his head to slam into the wooden dam as hard as he could, shattering it into tiny pieces, before flying up into the sky, back in control.

As soon as the dam was gone, the water started to rush toward the edge of the cliff as it was meant to. The three Pangoros panicked, trying to get out of the water, but the rushing torrent was too powerful for them to overcome. All three of them were dragged along and sent flying over the edge of the cliff, landing just on the other side of the former lake, crashing into the fourth Pangoro that had been taken out earlier.

Dragonite took a second to catch his breath, hovering above what was now a rushing waterfall. He snorted angrily as he looked down at his attackers, sore all over and feeling vengeful, as Iris ran up to him.

"Let's finish this!" she shouted. "Hyper Beam!"

Her Pokémon opened its mouth, starting to gather a ball of yellow energy, which quickly grew to great size. He lunged his head forward, and the ball erupted into a beam of energy, aimed directly at the four Pokémon down below. The Pangoros had no time to react before the beam impacted the ground directly under them, sending all four of them flying far away. Dragonite grunted, satisfied, before landing back on the ground, where Iris threw her arms around his neck.

"You did it!" she cheered. "Great job, Dragonite!" Her Pokémon nodded, awkwardly putting one hand on her back; even years later, he was still a bit uncomfortable with the affection Iris showed all of her Pokémon, but he was slowly warming up to it. She let go and climbed onto his back, and the two flew down the cliff, watching as the waterfall started to slowly fill the lake again. As they landed, they saw one Goomy after another pop up to the surface, plump and hydrated once again. Iris beamed, thrilled to see them healthy again, before running off along the trail she had taken, wanting to gather the others.

Three minutes later, she had gathered five more dried-out Goomys in her arms, running back with them to the reformed lake and carefully placing them in. They instantly started swelling with water, swimming out to happily greet the other members of their family. She sighed a happy sigh, watching the reunion take place, before noticing a strange and familiar sensation near her foot. Glancing down, she saw the same Goomy that had attacked her before, now rubbing affectionately against her ankle, wanting to thank her for her help.

"Looks like they're all pretty healthy now," she said, smiling and kneeling down to pat its head. "I'm glad everything ended up working out." Goomy quickly shifted and moved to her side, butting its head against one of the Poké Balls attached to her pack.

Iris raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Huh? You want to come along?"

"Goom," the Goomy responded affirmatively, backing away and looking up into her eyes. She grinned and grabbed a spare Poké Ball, touching its main button to make it grow, before holding it out in front of the slug Pokémon. Goomy cheered happily before pressing its forehead against the button, causing the ball to open and absorb the Goomy inside of it.

She stood up again, glancing at the Poké Ball in her hand, as it quickly registered the capture without a struggle. "Well, it was more trouble than I thought, but it was worth it in the end." She thanked Dragonite again for his help, sending him back to his own Poké Ball before making her way back to camp.

* * *

Back at their campsite, Brock had finished his breakfast and taken his time getting everything cleaned up. He was putting away the cooking equipment when he heard multiple sets of footsteps, approaching from different directions. Looking around, he saw Ash and Pikachu approaching from one direction, as Iris approached from the other.

"Hey, Iris!" Ash called out, running forward. "Did you manage to catch it?"

"I sure did!" Iris held up the newly-occupied Poké Ball proudly, as if it were a trophy. "One Dragon-type down!"

"That's great!" Ash reached down and grabbed a Poké Ball of his own, holding it up. "Pikachu and I caught a Pokémon too! It's a Skorupi!"

"Good job, Ash!" Brock chimed in, as he started folding up the picnic blanket. "That'll come in handy. Are you going to use it at the Gym?"

"Sure am! Once we get some training in, that badge is as good as mine!"

The three friends continued talking and laughing as they packed up their campsite, before setting out once again toward Laverre City.


	5. A Fantastic Fairy Battle!

The next day, in the middle of the afternoon, the trio found themselves walking into a medium-sized city in northern Kalos. The three of them looked around, their eyes drawn to the river running through the middle of the city, as well as the gigantic tree that stood in the center of it.

"Here we are, guys! Laverre City!" Ash proclaimed. "Man, this place hasn't changed a bit."

"I like it already," Iris responded, smiling as her eyes took in the greenery.

"I'll like any place with a bed," Brock added. "Camping is fun, but I can only sleep in a sleeping bag for so long."

"Really, Brock?" She glanced sideways at him. "You'd rather sleep in some stuffy bedroom than under the stars?"

"I dunno, I think I'm with Brock on this one," Ash chimed in. "I don't think I could camp out every single night."

"Bah, you guys are boring." Iris clasped her hands behind her head, stretching her arms.

Ash pulled out his town map, eyes snapping to the new route that had been created between Laverre City and Coumarine City. "Well, we'll get plenty of camping in when we're on Route 23. It's a few days to Coumarine from here." He put the map back into his pocket. "We can stay here a day or two before we head out. We're not in a big rush." He grinned. "For now, I've got a gym to challenge."

Brock straightened up, scanning what he could see of the city. "Where is it?"

Ash pointed to the enormous tree that stood out among the city buildings. "It's right there. They built the gym into that giant tree."

"Wow, really?" Iris stood on her toes to get a better look. "That's so cool!"

"Well, no time like the present," Brock added. "Let's head over there and get your first badge!" Ash nodded, a determined grin on his face, as the three made their way to the Laverre Gym.

* * *

Ten minutes later, the trio stepped into the main room of the gym, looking around in wonder at the design. The outer ring of the main room was covered in grass and trees, while a small moat surrounded the battlefield itself, which was connected to the rest of the room with four bridges. While Iris and Brock moved to a raised partition on the side, in order to watch the battle, Ash and Pikachu walked over one of the bridges onto the battlefield, where they saw the Gym Leader waiting for them on the other end. While she was wearing an eye-catching and intricately-designed pink and yellow outfit, Ash was drawn to her unusually large eyes, as he had been when they had first met, years ago.

"Welcome to my gym," she spoke in a soft, floaty voice. "What is your name, aspiring Champion?"

He grinned a bit in response, amused that she hadn't remembered who he was; from what he knew of her, it wasn't unusual for her to not remember what she had for breakfast that morning. "I'm Ash Ketchum, from Kanto. And being the League Champion isn't just my aspiration, it's my future!"

"I am happy to see such confidence from you." She smiled, stepping forward a bit. "My name is Valerie… Gym Leader, fashion designer, and aspiring Pokémon." She grinned. "Perhaps that is strange to say, but it's true."

Ash kept grinning, suppressing a laugh, thinking that just like Laverre City, Valerie hadn't changed at all. Iris cocked her head, looking at the Gym Leader like she was a few cards short of a full deck; Brock was determinedly looking away from the beautiful woman, his face red.

"Well, I wish you the best of luck," she continued. "I am told you are hoping to acquire your first Badge here. Is that correct?"

"It is," he answered.

"Very well, then. We shall have a two-on-two Pokémon battle. If you can manage to defeat me, then the Fairy Badge shall be yours." She stepped into position on her side of the battlefield. "Are you ready to battle?"

"You bet!" Ash stepped into position as well, feeling adrenaline starting to pump through his body, as it did before every Gym battle. He felt his fists clench in excitement, a smirk spreading across his face.

"Then, let us begin!" Valerie reached for a Poké Ball at her side, grasping it and throwing it into the ring, energetically. "Go, Spritzee!" The ball opened as it hit the ground, and the Pokémon that emerged was a small pink bird, less than a foot tall, with a large white beak. Upon seeing it, Iris pulled out her Pokédex curiously, aiming it at the creature.

"Spritzee, the Perfume Pokémon," the machine recited. "Spritzee gives off a fragrance that delights anyone who smells it, which changes depending on what Spritzee eats."

"Alright, let's do this!" Ash reached to his belt, pulling out a Poké Ball and tossing it into the ring. "Skorupi, you're up first!" The scorpion Pokémon emerged from the ball a second later, snapping its pincers, ready to go.

Valerie smiled a peculiar smile, which masked her thoughts well; it was hard to tell if she was impressed or bored by Ash's choice of a Poison-type. "Spritzee, let's neutralize their attack! Attract it with Sweet Scent!" The bird trilled in response, flapping its wings harder as it started to release a scent into the air, one that quickly started to spread. Ash watched it approach, unfazed, having prepared for this.

"Skorupi, avoid the scent by digging underground!" His Pokémon responded quickly, facing down and burrowing its way into the earth of the arena, just as the scent swept past. It hit the noses of everyone in the room, and nobody, not even Valerie or the referee standing at the side of the arena, was able to resist inhaling it deeply.

"Ahh…" Valerie exhaled slowly, smiling wide and closing her eyes, seeming to forget herself for a moment, before her mind returned to the battle at hand. "How long do you plan to keep your Skorupi underground, challenger? Sweet Scent lasts much longer than you might think."

Ash smirked, not saying anything, not wanting to give away what came next. As the two trainers watched, a Fell Stinger rocketed out of the ground, missing Spritzee by centimeters. Valerie yelped in surprise, as if she was the one who had been attacked.

"How devious! Don't get hit, Spritzee! Move around quickly!" The bird started zooming around the arena, dodging the stingers that were emerging from the ground once every few seconds, as the Gym Leader thought of her next move. As Spritzee flew about, its small wings were stirring up the air underneath, causing the Sweet Scent to slowly dissipate.

"Wow, look at that!" Iris exclaimed, leaning forward, her hands on the railing in front of her as the scent spread itself out and weakened. "Do you think he planned that out? Or did he just get lucky?"

"I couldn't tell you," Brock responded, his eyes following the action as well. "He wasn't quite that clever when I traveled with him… but it has been a long time." He grinned, excited to see what else was in store. Iris kept her eyes on the battle as well, wanting to see more before making her judgment.

Down in the arena, Valerie was acutely aware of what was happening. She was going to need a new tactic, right away, and her mind quickly came up with one.

"Spritzee! Attack the ground with Moonblast!"

Her Pokémon chirped and turned to face the ground, starting to gather a pink ball of energy in front of itself. As it dodged another Fell Stinger, it cried out and fired the energy out in front of it, toward the ground; it shook the earth as it hit, upturning much of it, making it harder to travel through. As its sharp eyes scanned the ground, it was able to see Skorupi's tail, as it struggled to dig through dirt that was now collapsing onto it.

"That's the way! Now find it and knock it out with Gyro Ball!"

Spritzee trilled again, starting to pitch forward and spin itself around repeatedly, until it was indistinguishable from a pink spinning ball. It lunged forward toward the soft earth, its opponent caught in its sights.

"Here it comes, Skorupi!" Ash called out. "Don't be caught off guard!"

Everyone watched as Spritzee grazed the battlefield, kicking up loose dirt all over, ramming directly into where it had last seen its opponent. As it zoomed past and back into the air, Valerie expected to see a dazed Skorupi half-buried in the soil; much to her surprise, however, the Pokémon was nowhere to be seen. She glanced up toward her Spritzee, which was spinning more slowly as it came out of the Gyro Ball. She gasped as she got a good look, seeing that Skorupi had clamped its pincers onto Spritzee's feathers, its poisonous tail jabbed directly into the bird's back.

"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed, eyes wide. "Spritzee, no!" She watched as her bird fell woozily to the battlefield, trying and failing to stay afloat. Skorupi hopped off as it crashed, slightly dizzy from all the spinning, and it was clear to everyone that Spritzee was not getting back up, completely incapacitated by the poison.

"Spritzee is unable to battle!" the referee announced, holding up a flag in Ash's direction. "The challenger wins the first bout!"

"Yes!" Ash pumped his fist, energized. "Great job, Skorupi!"

"How about that," Brock commented from above, smiling. "All that with barely a word being said. Ash was fine as a trainer before, but it seems like he's really coming into his own now."

"Well, don't jinx it," Iris responded. "There's still one Pokémon left to take out before he wins. If Skorupi can beat this one, too, then I'll be impressed."

Valerie looked downcast as she pulled out her Poké Ball, aiming it at the defeated Pokémon. "Spritzee, return. I'm sorry I let you down." She pocketed it and grabbed another from her side. "An impressive display of cunning, Ash Ketchum from Kanto. But you haven't won this battle yet."

She tossed her next Poké Ball onto the field. "Sylveon, I choose you!" Out of the ball came a four-legged, pink-and-white Pokémon adorned with ribbons, smiling sweetly. Brock was the one to take out his Pokédex this time, recognizing the creature but curious as to what the machine would say.

"Sylveon, the Intertwining Pokémon and an evolved form of Eevee. Sylveon affectionately wraps its ribbon-like feelers around its Trainer's arm as they walk together."

Ash nodded resolutely, glad to see that Valerie's team had not changed. Sylveon would be a challenge, but hopefully Skorupi's type advantage would be enough to win the day. "Skorupi, same plan! You're more dangerous underground!"

"Oh, no you don't!" Valerie responded. "Sylveon, Disarming Voice!"

As Skorupi started to burrow underground, Valerie's Pokémon cried out loud, aiming its voice right in its opponent's direction. The aggrieved, almost pleading tone of Sylveon's cry caused Skorupi to hesitate, half-buried in the ground.

"Let's unearth this opponent!" Valerie continued. "Fairy Wind!" Sylveon held its ribbons out in front of itself, building up a whirlwind directly in front of it; it released the wind moments later, laser-focused on the opposing Pokémon, who was lifted out of the ground and tossed several feet back.

Skorupi slowly got to its feet, a bit rattled from its brief flight. The Pokémon looked forward again, just in time to see its opponent rocketing toward it. Skorupi had no time to get out of the way of Sylveon's Giga Impact, and it was knocked powerfully away, rolling across the ground several times before coming to rest, dazed, its tail sticking straight out stiffly.

"No! Come on, Skorupi, you can get up!" Ash called out, pleading, but to no avail. His Pokémon continued to lay still, groaning quietly.

"Skorupi is unable to battle!" the referee interjected. "Sylveon wins the bout! Each trainer is down to their last Pokémon!"

Iris sighed, leaning forward and resting her chin on her arms atop the railing. "Well, that didn't last long."

Ash sighed as well, retrieving his Poké Ball and bringing his Pokémon back, disappointed but not too surprised. "You did great, Skorupi. Get some rest." He glanced downward toward Pikachu, who was standing at his side. "It's your turn, Pikachu. You've got this!" The Pokémon nodded, running into the ring on all fours, glaring at Sylveon and smirking.

"Let's start strong! Electro Ball!" Pikachu focused himself, electricity starting to crackle around his tail; a moment later, the electricity had formed into a ball, which Pikachu flung at his opponent.

Ash grinned as he watched the ball of electricity fly toward Sylveon. "Now, cut off its escape! Quick Attack!" His Pokémon responded by dashing forward, curving around to the side, taking away one of Sylveon's options to get away from the Electro Ball.

Valerie smiled, looking relaxed and not at all worried. "Sylveon, stop that ball with Light Screen!"

Her Pokémon focused in response, and a pink shield of light appeared in front of it, intercepting the Electro Ball; the attack immediately disappeared in a small flash of light, dealing zero damage to its target. Ash's eyebrows raised, not having seen Light Screen from this Pokémon before, as Sylveon dashed forward with a Quick Attack of its own. It easily got away from Pikachu, who screeched to a stop as he realized what had just happened.

"Well, that was simple," Valerie taunted, in a rare moment of bravado. "I hope electric attacks aren't all you have up your sleeve."

"No way!" Ash responded. "Pikachu's got plenty of other skills." He focused on his Pokémon once again. "Chase it down and get it with Iron Tail!"

Pikachu nodded, his tail turning hard as iron, and he began to chase Sylveon around the battlefield. Valerie's Pokémon had plenty of speed, making itself hard to catch, but it was still slower than Pikachu, who was gradually closing in. Once he was close enough, he leaped into the air and turned about, ready to swing.

"Sylveon! Disarming Voice!"

Sylveon looked toward its attacker and cried out just as it had before, the tone of its voice causing Pikachu to hesitate just a bit; Valerie's Pokémon took the opportunity to lunge forward and chomp down on the Iron Tail using Bite. Pikachu cried out in pain and surprise, before Sylveon swung its head sharply downward, slamming its opponent into the ground.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried out, as his Pokémon was tossed away by Sylveon, skidding across the ground before getting back to his feet, shaking his head. He was dazed and a bit scuffed up, but still capable of battling. From above, Iris and Brock watched the battle unfold, concern in their eyes; Axew watched as well, from his usual perch on Iris's head.

"This isn't good," Brock spoke up. "Sylveon is strong, and it has just enough tricks to neutralize all of Pikachu's natural advantages."

Iris nodded gently, not wanting to jostle Axew too much. "Ash is going to need to pull out something else that's clever if he wants to win this. Unless he gets lucky somehow."

"Well, luck comes through for him more often than not. I guess we'll see."

Ash bit his lip, running quickly through his options; Sylveon appeared to have all of its bases covered. He would have to find and exploit some sort of weakness if he wanted to win this, but how was he going to find them?

"Use Agility, Pikachu! Try to get behind it!"

His Pokémon nodded, dashing forward and starting to glow, becoming far faster than he had been previously. He started racing around Sylveon, who was turning about quickly, trying to keep up.

"You can't catch it, Sylveon!" Valerie called out, her voice still calm. "Stop it in its tracks! Dazzling Gleam!"

As Pikachu continued to race around, waiting for a good opportunity for a physical attack, he suddenly found an incredibly bright light appearing directly in his face, nearly blinding him. He cried out and slowed to a stop, waiting for his vision to return to normal, when he found himself blown away by another blast of Fairy Wind, sending him across the battlefield.

"Great work!" the Gym Leader called out. "You're a star, Sylveon! Now finish this battle! Giga Impact"

Pikachu got to its feet, dizzy as he looked toward Sylveon, who was once again racing forward to impact its opponent. This time, however, was a bit different; the Pokémon was running more slowly, its breathing a bit more labored. Ash's Pokémon had just enough time to leap upward and avoid the attack.

"What? What's going on?" Ash was relieved but confused, watching as Sylveon worked to catch its breath, turning to face Pikachu again. As he saw the color starting to drain from Sylveon's face, he remembered the moment where Skorupi was knocked out, and how its tail was sticking straight out, facing its opponent. His eyes widened as he pieced together what had happened; with its last attack, Skorupi had managed to stick Sylveon with a small amount of poison, which was now starting to take effect.

He grinned wide, seeing the path to victory laying itself out in front of him. "This is our chance, Pikachu! Use Agility one more time!"

His Pokémon nodded, starting to race around again, working once again to get into Sylveon's blind spot. Valerie's Pokémon turned around quickly, trying to use its Disarming Voice once more, but it didn't have the strength to cry out as loud as it needed to. It wasn't long before Pikachu was in position to attack.

"This is it!" Ash called out, adrenaline pumping once again. "Finish it, Pikachu! Volt Tackle!"

Sylveon turned more slowly than it would have liked, hearing that its opponent was no longer racing in circles. Before it could even get itself properly turned around, Pikachu slammed his whole body into the opposing Pokémon, sending a strong jolt of electricity through Sylveon's body as he did. Sylveon flew backward, landing hard on the ground before skidding to a stop. It struggled to get back onto all fours, its body weak, before it collapsed back to the arena, no longer making an attempt to stand.

"Sylveon is unable to continue!" the referee declared. "Pikachu is the winner, which means that the challenger has won the match!"

"Yes! We did it!" Ash thrust his fist into the air as he jumped, relieved and amped at the same time. Up above, Iris sighed in relief as Brock cheered.

Valerie walked forward onto the battlefield, kneeling next to Sylveon and lifting it up to cradle it in her arms, looking crestfallen. "I'm sorry, Sylveon. We won't be able to celebrate victory today." She took a minute before bringing Sylveon back to its Poké Ball, standing up and exhaling as Ash walked forward into the center of the arena; Pikachu climbed up onto his shoulder, worn out.

"The sting of defeat… it never feels any better, no matter how many times you experience it, does it? Perhaps I'm in the wrong profession." She glanced back at Ash, looking a bit surprised to see him at first, as if she had just remembered he was there. "You, however… you have many victories laying ahead of you, I'm sure."

She reached into the pocket of her dress, pulling out a metallic badge designed to look like a rounded pair of insect wings. "As proof of your victory, I confer onto you the Fairy Badge. I hope that you may complete your collection while you are here."

Ash grinned wide as he held out his hand, accepting the badge from her. "Thanks for the great battle, Valerie. Your Pokémon were really impressive."

"Thank you for the kind words." She smiled at him. "Do take care, future Champion." He nodded, turning around and walking toward the exit. He reached into one of his vest pockets and pulled out the badge case he had picked up in Lumiose City, placing the Fairy Badge into it as Iris and Brock quickly traveled down the stairs to him.

"Congratulations, Ash!" Brock exclaimed cheerfully. "First try, first badge. You're off to a good start."

"It's a good thing you got lucky with that poison," Iris chipped in. "That would have been a tough battle otherwise."

"What do you mean, lucky?" Ash glanced back, smirking. "How do you know I didn't have that planned out?"

Iris laughed as they stepped outside. "Give me a break, Ash. You had panic written all over your face."

The three continued to talk, bickering and laughing, as they made their way toward the Laverre City Pokémon Center.

* * *

"What? No beds at all?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid not," Nurse Joy offered, looking down into the faces of the three disappointed trainers in front of her; Pikachu was sitting on the counter, next to Skorupi's Poké Ball, glancing up at her as she spoke. "It's unusual for us, but it does happen from time to time. If you wanted, I could get some bedding for you, and you could sleep in our lobby tonight?"

Ash and Iris thought this over for a moment, but Brock quickly shook his head, not interested in sleeping on a couch or the floor. "You don't need to trouble yourself for our sake. We'll find someplace where we can stay the night."

Joy nodded, giving another apologetic smile. "Of course. Sorry again." She looked down, scooping Pikachu up into her arms, while her right hand grasped the Poké Ball. "We can definitely take care of your Pokémon, though. It will just take a bit."

Ash nodded, turning back toward his friends, as Brock spoke up again. "You stay here and wait for your Pokémon. We'll come back and get you when we've found a hotel with spare beds."

"I still don't see the problem with just camping out," Iris muttered as they turned away, walking toward the entrance. Ash grinned and watched them go, quietly impressed that Brock had managed to overcome his weakness for Nurse Joys. Olivia must have had more of an impact than he thought.

He turned back toward the counter, as the nurse walked into the back with his Pokémon. Glancing down, he noticed a container of sweets at one end of the counter, with a small sign indicating that they were free for trainers to enjoy. He grinned and nicked a macaron from the container, walking away as he took a bite of it.

As he walked and munched, his attention was drawn to a television playing overhead; glancing toward it, he saw that it was playing an advertisement for an upcoming Pokémon Showcase in Coumarine City. He stopped and watched it for a moment, thinking back to his first trip through Kalos with his friends, where the Coumarine City Showcase had been a major turning point in their adventure. His reminiscing came to an abrupt stop roughly ten seconds in; he froze, eyes wide with shock at what he saw on screen, and the half-eaten macaron fell out of his fingers and onto the ground.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Iris and Brock were walking down the sidewalk, back to the Pokémon Center. As they approached, they saw Ash practically burst out of the front doors, racing along the road with Pikachu held tightly in his arms.

"Hey, Ash!" Iris waved at him as he approached. "We're right here, you don't need to run. We found a place that's pretty close and-"

"There's no time!" Ash called out, running past the both of them. "We have to go! We have to leave, right now!"

"What?" Brock called out, confused, as they both turned around and watched him. "Why the sudden rush?"

"She's here! She's here in Kalos!" Ash answered, turning around and running backwards, one hand holding his hat onto his head so it wouldn't fly off. "We have to get to Coumarine City as fast as we can!"

"Wait, what?!" Iris exclaimed, starting to run after him. "The girl you know is here?"

"What's going on?" Brock started running as well, a mix of disappointed, surprised and curious. "You're not going to run all the way to Coumarine City, are you?"

"If I have to!" Ash turned around and started running full steam ahead. Now that he knew she was here, nothing was going to stop him from seeing her again.

"Ash, hold on! Wait up!" Iris called out, chasing after him as they all quickly made their way toward Route 23.


	6. A Triumphant Return!

Several days after she had arrived in Kalos, Serena found herself standing outside of the Pokémon Showcase Theater in Coumarine City, a building she hadn't been to in five years. She looked up at the circular building, which was adorned with banners and surrounded by large balloons, celebrating the beginning of the Kalos Showcase season. She had been dreaming of this moment for years, where she would finally show the people of Kalos everything she had learned during her travels.

As she envisioned herself on stage, her Pokémon joining her in a performance that she had been perfecting for months, she felt her heart starting to race, not from excitement, but from nerves. She inhaled and exhaled a shaky breath, not knowing why she was suddenly feeling this way. She had performed in Contests and Showcases across numerous regions without a second thought, filled with excitement and enjoying every moment. Now that she was back here, she felt once again like a scared little girl.

She took another breath and shook her head, trying to get herself out of her own head. Even if she was nervous, she knew her performance back to front, the muscle memory burned into her on a deep level. Her Pokémon were talented beyond measure. She told herself that there was nothing that was going to stop her from winning this Showcase and obtaining her first Princess Key, no matter how she felt now. She was going to make her mother proud.

She pushed herself forward, her bag slung over her shoulder, walking up the steps and into the theater. The performance wasn't for hours yet, but she would need time to get ready.

* * *

Later that same afternoon, Ash, Iris and Brock finally took their first steps into downtown Coumarine City. They were all worn out and exhausted, having traveled long days at a very ambitious pace, sleeping as little as possible in an attempt to make it in time. Finally arriving had given Iris and Brock a boost of mental energy, while Ash was positively wired. Pikachu, conversely, was completely exhausted, staggering forward a bit before slumping onto his stomach, eyes drooping.

"Finally… we made it, with almost no time to spare…" Ash took a second to stop and look around, seeing all the tall buildings around them, as well as the bay that separated the two halves of the city, before looking backward. "Thanks, you guys, really. Sorry I put you through this."

"It's fine," Brock managed, taking a breather, hands on his knees. "I needed some exercise anyway. And now I'll never need exercise again."

"I think after that, we deserve to learn a bit about this girl we've all been running to see," Iris chimed in, not out of breath like Brock was, but still physically tired out. "Who is she? You've been tight-lipped for the past day and a half."

"Right, sure." Ash turned around, kneeling down and scooping up Pikachu before starting to speak, when his eyes were drawn to a large screen on a nearby building, displaying an advertisement. He grinned and ran closer to it, moving past them both, somehow still energized. "This! Come look at this!"

Iris and Brock turned around, curious and following his eyes, seeing a video ad for the Showcase that would be occurring later that night. Roughly ten seconds in, Ash grinned wide and pointed to the screen excitedly. "There! That's her, right there! Serena!"

Iris's face quickly changed from curiosity to concern and confusion, as she looked over the smiling face of the honey blonde girl on the screen. "Ash… the girl you know… is from the TV?"

"Yeah!" he responded cheerfully. "She's the best performer in Kalos! I can't wait for you guys to see her!"

"Wow, she's pretty," Brock commented, as she disappeared from the screen, replaced with another performer. Ash nodded in agreement.

"The Showcase starts in an hour," he added, as all of the performers appeared together at the conclusion of the ad. "That should give us time to eat. And we could probably stop by the Pokémon Gym, too."

"By the what?!" Brock exclaimed, shocked. "You want to have a Gym Battle in your state?" Pikachu's ears perked up at this, and he glanced upward at his trainer tiredly, pleading for mercy, not in any shape to battle.

"No, not for a battle!" Ash shook his head. "I just want to look it over, and see if everything's the same as it was last time I was here. Maybe I can see what Pokémon are being used."

Brock nodded, sighing a bit in relief. "Alright… that's more reasonable. But I say we eat first." The three of them started walking further downtown, looking for a restaurant where they could get a big helping of food. As they walked, Iris fell back a bit, walking next to Brock before leaning in.

"Psst! Brock!" she whispered, trying not to get the attention of Ash, who was walking in front of them. "Are we sure Ash actually knows this girl, and this isn't some kind of stalker situation?"

"Buh?" He glanced back at her, surprised at the question, seeing the concern on her face. "I mean, I never knew Ash to be the stalker type…"

"Me neither, but it's been years. You can't be too careful, if you ask me." She turned back and stepped forward, catching up with Ash. "Tell me more about Serena, Ash. How did you know her?"

He nodded, starting to describe her in more detail, as well as their travels, as they walked down the streets of the city.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, all of them had gotten a large dinner, and they were walking a bit more easily as they approached the gigantic tree that housed the Coumarine Gym. As it came into clearer view, they were surprised to see a short, bald, old man walking toward the information board parked in front of the gym, reaching out to change the "Open" sign to "Closed".

"Huh? It's closing already?" Ash ran forward a bit, Pikachu once again perched on his shoulder. The old man turned around to see the youngsters moving in his direction, recognition flashing across his face as he saw Ash.

"Well, you look familiar, youngster," he spoke, stepping forward, as Ash stopped in front of him. "Have you battled in my Gym before?"

"Ramos!" Ash exclaimed, recognizing the older man as the Coumarine Gym Leader. "I have! I was here five years ago, when I got my Plant Badge!"

"Ah, yes, that's right." Ramos smiled. "I do remember you. You did quite well in the Kalos League that year. Are you back for another shot?"

Ash nodded in response, as the other two walked right up behind him. "I am, but… why are you closing up the Gym? Aren't they usually open a little later than this?"

The Gym Leader nodded. "Yes, well, they are, but… it's a bit embarrassing, but my Pokémon aren't in any shape to battle right now."

"They're not? What happened?"

Ramos frowned. "A young man came through here a few hours ago, trying to get his Plant Badge. And, well… he got it." He sighed. "I've been a Gym Leader for decades, but I've never had my Pokémon take a shellacking like that before. I had to take them all to the Pokémon Center right away, and unfortunately, they're still there."

Iris's eyebrows raised; if a Pokémon Center couldn't fix up a Pokémon after several hours, they must really have been beaten badly. "Oh wow, really? What was his name?"

"Ah, that, I don't recall. He was a couple years older than you, with black hair, but that's all I remember. I'm sure you'll hear about him again, if you keep at the Gym Challenge." Ramos rubbed his head a bit, adjusting his hat. "Anyway, if you want your own Plant Badge, try coming back tomorrow. Sorry again." The trio nodded, turning and walking away, as Ash looked down, contemplating this news.

"So, there's a trainer out there who's that strong…" he muttered to himself, growing concerned. He could already feel his chances of winning the Kalos League slipping away, in the face of this competition.

"Try not to think about it, Ash," Brock offered. "Just get your Badges, and you can worry about the competition later."

Iris nodded in agreement. "Besides, it's not like we ran all this way for a Gym Battle. We have a Showcase to get to."

"That's right!" Ash's eyes lit up as he grinned wide, and he started running toward the Showcase Theater, excited. His charge was quickly stopped, however, as Iris reached out and grabbed the back of his vest, clutching it tightly.

"No! No more running!" she scolded, holding him back. "We'll get there just fine if we walk." Ash stopped and nodded sheepishly, and they started walking toward the building at a reasonable pace, with Brock and Pikachu mentally thanking Iris for intervening.

* * *

Some time later, they were filing into their seats, as the theater filled with people excited to see the first Showcase of the season. They eventually found their seats and sat down, with Pikachu and Axew seated on their trainers' laps, while Brock looked over the program he had received.

"This says the Showcase has two rounds," he spoke. "Nine performers will participate in a Theme Performance, and then three of them go on to the Freestyle Performance. The ultimate winner is decided by audience vote, and receives a Princess Key."

Ash nodded, glancing down at the electronic Glow Caster wand in his hand, with which he would be casting his vote. "So it hasn't really changed much, I guess. I wonder what the Theme Performance will be. It changed a lot when I was here last."

"Did you see a lot of them?" Iris asked, glancing over.

"I saw a handful. Maybe…" He looked up, trying to recall the exact number. "Five or six, I guess? All of the ones that Serena competed in."

She smiled warmly. "That's pretty dedicated."

Ash smiled back. "Why wouldn't I have gone? Besides, she was there at all of my Gym Battles. It's only fair."

Before the conversation could continue, the lights started to come down, eliciting a loud round of cheering from the audience. A spotlight shone down near the front of the stage, and moments later a man in a flamboyant blue and black suit came on stage, holding a microphone and wearing a tall top hat.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" he announced. "Thank you all so much for coming to this year's first Pokémon Showcase, here in Coumarine City! My name is Monsieur Pierre, and I will be your host tonight!" The crowd cheered raucously, excited, before he continued. "We have nine fantastic Pokémon Performers here tonight, some of them first-timers, some of them highly experienced. Which of these lovely ladies will be declared winner, and receive their first of three Princess Keys? The decision is in your hands!"

Behind him, the audience could see what looked like three small kitchen setups being brought onto the stage, despite the lack of lighting on the stage. Once they were in place, three different performers started walking on stage, one for each kitchen, as Pierre continued. "Our Theme Performance tonight will be a Poké Puff Contest! Each of the competitors will have to bake a batch of Poké Puffs for our judges, with the help of their Pokémon! The highest scorer in each group of three will move on to the Freestyle Competition!"

He turned around and gestured to the three kitchen setups. "And now, without further ado, our first trio of competitors! Please give a big round of applause to Fiora, Serena and Isadora!" The lights came up on the rest of the stage, revealing the three contestants, all of whom were wearing aprons over their dresses. The crowd roared with excitement, cheering for their preferred Performer in one cacophonous mass.

Ash could feel his heart stop as he watched the performers walk on stage, his eyes fixated on the girl in the center, shutting out everything else. She was notably taller than he remembered, her face more mature, but it was unquestionably her, only slightly different from the image that he had formed in his head. The moment felt surreal, as if something impossible that only existed in his mind had become reality, and it was several long seconds before his mind returned to him. He eventually leaned forward and started to cheer loudly for her, cupping his hands to his mouth, but there was no hope of his voice being heard, as far back as they were sitting.

Serena looked out at the crowd as the lights came up, immediately regretting it. Her nerves were kicking into overdrive as she saw all of the people in front of her, making her heart race and putting butterflies in her stomach. She was crossing her fingers behind her back, hoping that she didn't get too far into her own head. She knew she could make Poké Puffs with her eyes closed at this point; she just needed to let herself do it. She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, trying to shut out the voices of the crowd, working through the steps of the task ahead of her.

"Girls, bring out your Pokémon!" Serena reached down and grabbed two Poké Balls from her apron, tossing them in front of her; as they hit the ground, her Delphox and her Sylveon emerged, focused and ready to go. The other two contestants brought out their own Pokémon as well, each of them having at least one Fire-type by their sides to help with the baking.

"Is everyone ready?" Monsieur Pierre asked, not waiting for an answer. "Then let the Theme Performance… begin!"

Immediately, all three Performers turned around and started gathering ingredients, as their Pokémon followed them. Serena's Delphox started heating the oven, as she and her Sylveon began working on pastry dough. She could still feel her nerves trying to trip her up, but her muscle memory was starting to kick in, forcing her nervousness to the back of her mind. Within seconds, she had suddenly regained the clarity of mind that she'd been hoping for since earlier that morning. She felt a smile creep over her face as she moved to get her Sylveon working on filling; for the first time all day, she was having some fun.

The crowd was raucous as ever as the three girls got to baking, cheering nonstop, with occasional chants breaking out for one girl or another, as if the venue was a sports stadium. Ash was as loud and excited as anyone else, with Pikachu contributing his voice to the noise as well; Iris and Brock eventually got in on it too, getting swept up in the fun as the contestants got their puffs into the ovens. Ash and his friends watched as Serena kneeled next to her oven, giving careful direction to Delphox as to how they should be cooked.

"Girls, you have one minute left!" Pierre eventually announced, as the Performers started removing their puffs from the oven. Sylveon skillfully helped Serena fill her pastries, moving quickly as the crowd started counting down the final few seconds. When the buzzer sounded, all of the competitors exhaled and leaned back against their counters, some of them wiping away sweat.

"Excellent work, from all three of our girls!" the MC stated, amid further cheers from the audience, who were limitless in their candor. "And now, the judging shall begin! First up, Fiora!"

The crowd quieted down substantially as the first girl brought her Poké Puffs forward for judging. The three judges, all of whom looked like upper-crust members of society, tasted the pastries with contemplative looks on their faces, as if they were critiquing high art. Soon, Serena brought her puffs up for judging, followed by Isadora. All three girls looked nervous as the judges tasted their work; at the very least, Serena was glad to know she wasn't alone.

After a couple minutes of discussion, the judges waved Monsieur Pierre over to disclose their decision. Once he was told the name of the winner, he walked back onto the center of the stage, drawing more cheers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have our decision! Everyone, please give a big round of applause to your winner… Serena!"

As the audience roared its approval, Serena felt a wave of relief wash over her, nearly knocking her off her feet. She smiled wide as she kneeled down, hugging both of her Pokémon tightly and thanking them for their help. She closed her eyes and sighed happily, thankful for the momentary reprieve before the nerves returned, unable to see the familiar face cheering for her in the crowd.

"We'll be seeing her again, during the final Freestyle Performance!" Pierre continued. "For now, let's bring out three more contestants to try their hands!" Serena stood up, returning Delphox and Sylveon to their Poké Balls, before she turned and headed backstage, smiling wide. Moments later, three more girls stepped onto the stage, and another round began.

* * *

An hour later, Serena was sitting in the hallway behind the stage, looking down, hands clasped in her lap, as her Pokémon milled about, warming themselves up. She was wearing her new performance outfit, blue flower clip in her hair, looking as perfect as she had hoped she would. She could hear the second freestyle performer on stage right now, dancing with her Pokémon, as she would be doing in just a few minutes.

She had finally figured out what was making her so nervous. Coumarine City was where she had her first performance, years ago, when she was first toying with the idea of being a Performer. The Theme Performance, which was a round of Pokémon Styling, had gone very poorly for her, as her Fennekin tripped on a ribbon and fell to the ground, destroying her chances of victory. She'd put on a brave face at the time, but inside she was crushed.

As she sat inside the same theater once again, all the memories were rushing back. She could feel the crushing disappointment in her heart, and the heat of shame on her face, as if it had just happened minutes ago. As she sat and stewed in her own thoughts, her Pancham walked by her and paused, looking up.

"Cham?" he asked, wondering what was making his trainer so upset.

"Pancham, I need you to slap me hard," she replied, needing to get herself out of this funk somehow. She was half-serious when she said it, but she was completely taken by surprise when Pancham did just that, hopping onto her lap and slapping her across the face with his paw, just hard enough to startle but not sting. She stared at him, stunned, eyes wide, as he pointed at her and began to speak.

"Pan, pan, pancham! Cham cham, papapan, pancham!"

She watched in confusion and disbelief as her Pokémon gave her an energized pep talk, gesticulating wildly and speaking loudly about who knows what. She eventually felt herself smile wide as he finished, reaching out and hugging him tightly to her, laughing.

"Thanks, Pancham. I needed that." He hugged her back, as she felt herself relax. She didn't have the faintest idea what he had said, but knowing that her Pokémon cared this much about her went a long way toward putting her in a better mood.

"Serena?" She glanced over at the sound of her name being called, recognizing the blonde, bespectacled woman in a suit calling her from the back of the stage. "We need you on stage. You'll be performing in just a minute."

She nodded. "Thanks, Paris." She stood up and followed her backstage, with her three Pokémon following her in turn. She walked out onto the corner of the stage, seeing the previous contestant, Jill, finishing up her performance, dancing and spinning with her Pokémon.

Serena closed her eyes, sighing, feeling better about what she was about to do. She found it easier to put aside the unpleasant memories from before, and she instead found herself thinking about the friends she had traveled with at the time. She tried to imagine what the three of them might say, as Jill wrapped up her performance.

"You're the best Performer ever, Serena! You can win this for sure!"

She smiled wide, imagining the young and cheerful Bonnie, with her Dedenne by her side. The two of them had been great friends throughout her journey, and as the audience started to applaud, she reminded herself to stop by Lumiose City to visit sometime soon.

"Your skills in this area are unmatched! Do your best, and I know you'll win!"

Her smile turned to a grin, as she thought of Bonnie's older brother, Clemont. He was more than a little geeky, but always cheerful and encouraging, and a loyal friend.

"Go, Serena! You've got this, I know you do!"

Her eyes shot open. That voice wasn't in her head.

She looked out toward the crowd as their applause died down, scanning the upper balcony, where the shout had come from. The voice was intensely familiar, though deeper than the voice she would have immediately recognized. As she scanned the crowd, she eventually locked eyes with a teenage boy with black hair and a red-and-white hat, with a yellow Pokémon sitting on his lap. As soon as their eyes met, he grinned wide and started frantically waving one of his arms.

Serena visibly gasped, covering her mouth with one hand, her heart stopping. It was him. It had to be. It couldn't possibly be anyone else. Her mind raced as she continued locking eyes with him, taking a trembling step back, unable to look away. Why was he here? He wasn't supposed to be here. She had planned it all out. This was too early. She wasn't prepared for this.

"Thank you, Jill, for that beautiful performance!" She was brought back to Earth by the voice of Monsieur Pierre, jumping and looking around as a spotlight shone down on her. "Last but not least, the fifteen-year-old veteran from Vaniville Town, Serena! Give her a big hand, folks!"

The crowd began cheering once again, as she took a moment to compose herself. She took a deep breath, trying her best to force her nerves downward; falling apart now would be an unacceptable disaster. As she walked toward center stage with her Pokémon, she found her heart racing again, no longer from nerves, but from excitement. Her momentary panic had subsided, and her mind became surprisingly clear. She knew what she had to do, what she had been planning to do ever since they parted. She was going to show him exactly what kind of Pokémon Performer she had become.

As her music began, she looked down and reached out toward her Sylveon, who leaped into her arms, as her Delphox used Fire Spin to surround them all with a small ring of flame. Serena tossed Sylveon into the air, as her Pokémon focused and used Fairy Wind, aiming it directly upward. The burst of air sent the flames flying upward, creating a pillar of sparkling pink air surrounding all three of them, rising upward, as if she was some sort of fairy goddess bursting forth from the Earth. The crowd ooh'd in amazement, and she grinned wide, energized and excited like she hadn't been in years, as her performance began.

The crowd cheered repeatedly as she danced about with her Pokémon, pouring her heart and soul into her performance. Delphox and Sylveon provided spectacular visual effects, as Pancham showed off his athletic ability and dancing skill, bouncing and flipping all about. Brock and Iris watched her with wide eyes, never having seen such a display from anyone before, as her performance blew the other two girls out of the water.

Ash's eyes never left Serena for a moment. He watched in amazement as she danced, somersaulted, and pirouetted about the stage like it was second nature, unable to believe how much she had improved in the last five years. As he watched her spin on one foot, her eyes closed and her arms out, it seemed as if time was slowing down for him. He watched her hair as it spun, the blue flower highlighting it perfectly, before his eyes traveled down to her face, and the magical smile that adorned it. He felt his face flush, thinking that in this moment, practically frozen in time, she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen.

As the music wound down, Serena did one final somersault forward, landing in perfect splits as her Pokémon raised their arms around her. She was still smiling as she caught her breath, the crowd erupting into the loudest applause of the night, amazed at the display they had just seen.

"A stunning performance from the talented Serena!" Monsieur Pierre proclaimed, walking to the front of the stage, as Serena's Pokémon helped her get to her feet. "We've seen all three performers, and now it's time to cast your votes!"

He held up a Glow Caster in his hand, showing off the three colored buttons on it. "When I give the signal, press the appropriate button to vote for your performer of choice! Remember that a green vote is for Astrid, a pink vote is for Jill, and a yellow vote is for Serena!" He lowered his wand and stepped backward, as the three girls walked forward, taking their positions. "Everyone, cast your votes now!"

As soon as they were given the signal, Ash, Iris and Brock raised their Glow Casters enthusiastically, each of them pressing the yellow button. They watched as yellow balls of light emerged from their wands and flew down toward the stage, collecting itself in a hologram of a key that floated in front of Serena. Soon the air was full of glowing, multicolored light flowing toward the stage, but it was clear that one color was dominating the other two.

As the light finally settled and the air returned to normal, there was no question as to who had won. Astrid and Jill's keys had collected a small amount of light each, but Serena's key was as full as it could be.

"Well, there's no debate to be had here!" Pierre announced, as the crowd cheered. "The winner of the showcase, and the recipient of the season's first Princess Key, is the one and only Serena!"

Serena was beaming from ear to ear as the adulation of the crowd washed over her, and she felt her Pokémon all embracing her tightly. She kneeled down and wrapped her arms around all of them, elated, before standing up again. Her gaze immediately went back to Ash, as she smiled wider than she could remember smiling before, her hands clasped over her chest.

She wished that she could speak to him, shout to him over the crowd, and tell him that performance had been for him; from the look on his face, she felt like he had understood it regardless. Even with the distance between them, she could see the immense pride in his eyes, which was a reward greater than any Princess Key. The two of them kept their gaze fixed on each other as long as they could, neither of them wanting this perfect moment to end.


	7. Together Again At Last!

Serena made her way back into the performers' dressing room, her heart pounding, her hand clasping a key ring that now bore a gold Princess Key, with a heart-shaped emerald embedded in the handle. She could barely believe what she had just done. She had earned her first of three Princess Keys in dominant fashion, putting all of the performers in Kalos on notice, and showing Ash just how much she had grown as a Pokémon Performer. Now came the hard part: talking to him.

She quickly walked over to her mirror, where her bag was waiting for her; she reached in and pulled out a makeup wipe, starting to clean off her face. Her mind raced with all the things she had wanted to say to him, trying to think of what would be best. She had imagined their reunion for years, and while she hadn't expected it to come now, she still had plenty of lines and plenty of emotions that she knew she would need to express.

As her mind raced, she failed to notice the opening of the door, or the approaching footsteps. It wasn't until she saw a shifting shadow in the mirror that she realized she wasn't alone. She quickly turned around, finding herself face-to-face with an older woman, sporting sunglasses atop her head, a fancy full-length coat, and graying blond hair.

"That was quite the performance you put on, Serena," the woman spoke.

"Palermo!" Serena exclaimed, immediately recognizing the former Kalos Queen. "I didn't realize you were here…"

"Of course you didn't. I'm only seen here when I want to be seen." She took a step toward the young performer, an amused smirk on her face. "I have to say, I was worried for you when you rejected my mentorship offer, all those years ago. Obviously, my fears were unfounded."

"Ah… thank you, Palermo, very much." Serena smiled gratefully at her. "And thank you for your suggestion, to travel to Hoenn. Those Pokémon Contests really were a big help."

"Clearly, they were. Your Pokémon are leagues ahead of where they were before. So are you, for that matter." Palermo grinned. "You're a good student, evidently."

Serena nodded, a bit contritely. "I'm sorry about rejecting your offer. I know you could have made me a great Performer. It's just…"

The older woman shook her head. "You don't need to apologize, Serena. If it wasn't right for you, then it wasn't right for you." She folded her arms. "That's why I'm here. I just wanted to let you know that offer is still on the table, should you want it."

Serena's eyes widened. "It… it is? Really?"

"Of course. I still believe that you have the potential to be Kalos Queen, should you want it. And I think you'd make a great one."

The performer flushed pink, not expecting such a compliment from someone so experienced. She smiled sheepishly, after a moment. "I… I'll think about it."

Palermo nodded in response. "Please do."

The two stood about for a moment, before Serena spoke again, sensing that the conversation had reached its natural end. "Well, I should… change out of this…"

"No, you shouldn't," the older woman responded, shaking her head. "In fact, you should put your makeup back on."

Serena blinked, surprised. "What? How come?"

Palermo smiled. "Because right now, there are roughly thirty little girls out there in the lobby, waiting to see you. Maybe more."

Serena's eyes widened in surprise, not having expected this. "They… want to see me?"

"Who else? They're certainly not here to see a washed-up old fogey like me." Palermo smirked. "They want to see what a future queen is like. Go and show them. And bring a marker. They'll want autographs."

The younger woman stood for a moment, dumbfounded, before coming to her senses, smiling and bowing her head. "Right, of course. Thank you again."

Palermo nodded and put her sunglasses back down over her eyes, before turning and walking out the dressing room door. Serena watched her go for a second, before turning and reaching into her bag, pulling out her makeup kit, smiling wide. Ever since she was just starting out as a Performer, she had wanted to inspire others and make them smile, and here was her opportunity to do so. Ash would have to wait just a bit longer.

* * *

Several minutes later, she walked out the door leading into the lobby, with Sylveon by her side to help with the crowd that had apparently formed. She was shocked as a massive group of young girls ran over to her, wanting to speak to her, tell her how great she had been, ask for her autograph, pet her Sylveon, and more.

She laughed as they crowded around, grinning wide. "Alright, one at a time, one at a time…" She bent down to talk to one of the girls, who started raving about the amazing performance Serena had just put on.

Elsewhere in the lobby, Ash and his friends were standing in a corner, waiting for the champion to show up. As soon as Ash heard her voice, he quickly turned toward it, grinning as he saw her being swarmed, half expecting her to be lifted up and carried away. Iris and Brock quickly noticed her arrival as well, turning to watch.

"There she is," Ash spoke. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised at how popular she's gotten."

"After that performance, I'm not surprised, either," Iris responded, stepping closer to him, Axew back at his usual perch on her head. "That was amazing. Was she that good before?"

He shook his head. "Not at all. She was good back then, but nothing like this." He turned back to the two of them, Pikachu still watching Serena from his shoulder. "You guys should meet her! I'd love to introduce you."

Brock nodded, smiling and stepping forward. "Sure, that sounds-"

"Actually," Iris interrupted, reaching out and grasping the fabric of Brock's sleeve, "I think Brock and I are going to head back to the Pokémon Center. We'll see you back there later, alright?"

Brock's face fell a bit. "Whuh… but I was hoping to…"

"Come _on_, Brock…" she growled, turning and walking toward the front door, dragging him forcefully along. As Ash watched them leave, he felt Pikachu leap off of his shoulder and run after them, able to take the hint from Iris. He climbed up Brock's side and onto his shoulder, turning back toward Ash and waving at him, in a clear "good luck" gesture.

Once they had all left the venue, Ash turned back toward Serena, watching as she interacted with the collection of young girls around her. Several of them were kneeling next to Sylveon, petting its body and its ribbons, while Serena conversed with an excited young girl with curly brown hair. She looked completely in her element, caught up in the moment, a wide smile on her face. In that moment, she looked fulfilled, like she had everything she needed.

"She sure looks happy…" he muttered to himself. He stayed for several minutes more, watching as she continued to talk and laugh, never once looking his way. He eventually reached up and tugged his hat down a bit, covering his face, and he walked out one of the side entrances, stepping outside. He walked down the steps quickly, not wanting her to notice that he had left. Serena didn't notice anything amiss, moving on to the next young girl.

* * *

Some time later, Serena had finally gotten through the crowd of girls that were excited to see her, and she looked around at the nearly-empty lobby. The room had cleared out ten minutes ago, but she had continued to wait for the one person she had really hoped to see, her heart sinking further with each passing minute. As the cleaning crew came out to start sweeping the floors and pick up discarded programs, she was finally forced to accept the truth: there was nobody else coming to see her.

She looked down, her head and her heart feeling heavy. "I guess that's it." She turned around, walking backstage once again, slowly. She wasn't sure how this reunion was going to play out, but this was one thing she had never expected. This was definitely much worse than never seeing him again.

"I guess five years is a long time," she spoke to herself quietly as she walked into the dressing room, trying to rationalize what had happened. "People change… a lot. It was silly of me to think that things could be the same as before." She reached out and closed up her bag, not bothering to remove her makeup, trying to act like she wasn't completely devastated.

As she picked up the bag, she could feel something wrapping around her arm. Looking down, she saw Sylveon with a sad and sympathetic expression on her face, hating to see her trainer so upset. Serena forced a smile, kneeling down and embracing her Pokémon.

"I'll be alright, Sylveon," she lied. "You're a sweetheart."

She stood up after a few moments, returning Sylveon to her Poké Ball, before she started walking toward the entrance, feeling numb, all of the wind taken out of her sails. She didn't even want to think about her next Showcase right now, or really about anything at all. She closed her eyes as she pushed open the front door, stepping outside into the night air.

"Hey, there you are."

Her eyes snapped open, and she lifted her head to look at the figure standing at the bottom of the stairs. There he was, looking a bit cold and even more tired, but smiling wide, excited to see her; given what time it was now, he must have been waiting here for close to an hour. Her eyes widened, and she felt her bag slip from her grasp, hitting the ground.

"You sure are popular now," he continued. "There was an army of people out there waiting to see you after the Showcase."

"Ash…" she uttered quietly, not sure what else to say, as she experienced the most severe emotional whiplash of her life.

"You were really incredible up there," Ash went on, his smile not fading one bit. "I can't believe how much better you've gotten."

"Ash…" she repeated, her heart pounding once again. All of the things she had wanted to say, all that she had practiced over the years, had completely fled her mind as she processed what was going on. She had spent years building up her strength and her confidence, and he had managed to reduce her to this in a matter of seconds.

"I… I was going to come and find you," she finally managed, her voice barely audible. "You were supposed to wait for me."

"Sorry," Ash offered. "Guess I didn't want to wait any longer."

She could feel her breathing becoming shaky, tears starting to form in her eyes. Despite all of the time she had spent imagining their eventual reunion, she had never imagined anything like this. She never thought he would want to see her as much as she wanted to see him, and yet here he was, standing out in the cold for ages, just for a chance to speak to her alone. She tried to speak again, but she had no words.

She started to slowly walk down the stairs, her pace steadily picking up before she found herself running to him, tears falling from her eyes, glistening in the light of the street lamps. She closed her eyes tight as she reached level ground, throwing herself into his arms and holding him tight as she buried her face in his shoulder, feeling his arms wrap around her.

"I…" She sniffled. "I told myself I wouldn't cry when this moment came, but… just… I'm so happy to see you, Ash."

"Yeah," he muttered quietly, holding her gently. "You too, Serena."

The two stood there for several long moments, not saying anything, just feeling the warmth of the other's embrace. There was no longer any cold, nor exhaustion, just the two of them together, as they held each other in the cool night air.

* * *

Back at the Pokémon Center, Iris and Brock were sitting at a table near the entrance, playing a card game to pass the time. Brock was clearly winning, while Iris grew more and more irritated with how the game was going; Pikachu watched curiously, while Axew was curled up on a nearby chair, fast asleep.

They both turned as soon as they heard a muted pair of voices, followed by the whirr of the automatic doors opening, as both Ash and Serena walked inside. She had regained her composure several minutes before, and the two of them were talking animatedly as they spent some time catching up, her bag slung over his shoulder.

"Pipika!" Pikachu cheered happily, jumping off the table and racing over to the both of them. He leaped excitedly into Serena's arms, and as she caught him he began licking her cheek affectionately.

She laughed, delighted, feeling the tickle of tiny electric shocks as he showered her with affection. "Oh, I missed you too, Pikachu!" Iris quickly stood up and walked over to the pair, excited to meet her and eager to abandon the card game that she was losing; Brock quickly followed, wanting to meet the girl that Ash was so excited to see.

"Guys, this is Serena," Ash spoke, introducing her to them; he knew that Iris and Brock both knew Serena's name, but he wasn't sure how else this was supposed to be done. "Serena, this is Iris and Brock. I met both of them before I came to Kalos the first time." She smiled wide, holding Pikachu gently in her arms as the other two walked up to her.

"It's great to meet you!" Iris said cheerfully, extending her hand, which Serena shook. "I'm from Unova. I'm the Gym Leader in Opelucid City."

"That was an amazing performance you put on," Brock added, extending his hand as well. "I'm training to be a Pokémon Doctor, but I used to be the Gym Leader of Pewter City, in Kanto."

Serena grinned, shaking Brock's hand. "Wow, Ash, you sure know a lot of Gym Leaders, don't you?"

"Huh?" Ash replied, not having thought much about it before. "I mean, I know a couple…"

"A couple?" Brock cocked his head. "What about Misty, in Cerulean City?"

"Or Cilan, in Striaton City," Iris chimed in.

Serena grinned wider, a light teasing in her voice as she spoke. "Don't forget about Clemont, here in Lumiose City."

"Ok, so I know a lot of Gym Leaders!" Ash responded, a bit irritated at everyone ganging up on him. "What does it matter?"

Iris grinned, ignoring Ash's outburst, looking back toward Serena. "Ash has told us all about you. When he heard you were going to be here, he made us run all the way from Laverre City to make it in time."

Serena's eyebrows raise, and she smiled as her face turned a bit pink. "He did, really?" She glanced over at him for confirmation, seeing him smiling sheepishly and looking down. She felt her heart swell a bit in response.

"How long will you be in Kalos?" Brock asked. "Are you doing the whole Master Class cycle?"

"Mhmm." She nodded. "I'll be here for several months, at least. The Showcase season mostly lines up with the Pokémon League schedule."

"That's great to hear," Ash chimed in, looking back up at her. "Would you want to travel with us, Serena? It wouldn't be the same without you."

She beamed at him, having been waiting for this question. "Of course I will, Ash! I wouldn't have it any other way."

He smiled even wider, relieved and thrilled. He took a moment to take note of the subtle changes he'd observed in Serena's personality. Her travels over the past five years had clearly given her a good deal more confidence, and with that she had become more playful, as well; he decided that he liked this change very much. Serena, for her part, was happy that Ash hadn't changed too much, and that the two of them were still equal in height.

"Well then, we've got a bit of work to do," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his town map. "If we're going to be hitting both Gyms and Showcases, we'll need to figure out where we're going."

* * *

Ten minutes later, all of them were seated around the table once again. The card game had been discarded, and the town map had been laid out, as they worked out where they were going to be, and when. Ash took notes, marking up the map with a pencil, as Serena used her phone to look up important dates.

"I think we've got the Western half of Kalos down," Ash spoke, glancing down at the map. "We can just do one big loop and it'll work out. It's the Eastern half that's tricky…"

"Actually…" Iris chimed in, pointing to the bottom-left corner of the map. "Do we have time to travel along Route 8 after Cyllage City? There are Bagons in that area, and I'd love to catch one. There aren't too many pure Dragon-types in Kalos."

"Sure, we can do that," Serena answered, leaning over the map. "We've got nearly two weeks to spare before we hit Lumiose City." Ash nodded, erasing one of the lines he had drawn and penciling in another, as Serena looked toward Brock. "Was there any place you wanted to see while you were here, Brock?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I'm not going anywhere in particular. As long as I get to see lots of Kalos, I'm fine." Ash nodded before he turned his attention to the right half of the map once again.

"So the Master Class is in Gloire City again, but…" he muttered. "There are still two other Gyms past Gloire that we need to tackle, and the timing is kind of rough." He absentmindedly drew a couple of question marks near a snowy, mountainous region. "We might have to backtrack from Snowbelle City to make the Master Class, then backtrack again later from Santalune City to make the Pokémon League… that's a bit messy."

Serena shook her head. "Actually, the Snowbelle Gym is closed down."

He blinked, glancing up at her. "What? When did that happen?"

"A couple of years ago, when Wulfric retired."

He glanced back down at the map, slumping a bit, his chin in his hands. "Well, that's just great. Where am I supposed to get my eighth Gym Badge?"

"There's a new Gym, it's… shoot, I used to know this…" She went back to her phone, performing a quick search. "Oh, that's right. There's a new Gym in Fleurrh City. It's a Dark-type Gym, run by Athena."

"Fleurrh City?" Ash's eyes lit up as he found it on the map. "That's perfect! That's right on the way to Gloire." He drew more lines on the map. "Now we only have to backtrack once. Guess we're not hitting Snowbelle City after all." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Iris sighing in relief, never having been a fan of the cold.

"I think we've got it!" he proclaimed, holding up the map in triumph. "Seven Gyms, six Showcases. We're all set to go." He started folding it up. "And along the way, I'll catch the remaining Pokémon I need to compete in the League."

"Catch them?" Serena asked, surprised. "You didn't bring a team with you?"

"I never do," he replied, putting the map back into his pocket. "Whenever I enter a new region, I try to catch and raise all of my Pokémon during my travels. That's how I've always done it."

She cocked her head. "What about Pikachu?"

"Thank you," Iris interjected, slumping forward. "I was telling him the same thing days ago." Brock chuckled.

Ash glanced down at his Pokémon sitting on the table, who looked back at him curiously. "Pikachu's different. The two of us have always been together." He reached down and pet Pikachu gently on top of his head.

Serena nodded, still looking skeptical. "Well, I don't want to tell you how to build your team. But a lot of people who compete in the Kalos League have Pokémon they've been training with for years. Having more Pokémon you're familiar with might… make things easier."

He frowned and looked down, thinking this over. He was reluctant to change the strategy he'd been using for years, but he also had too many near-misses and not enough championship trophies under his belt. Everyone watched him mull this over for a few seconds, before his eyes lit up a bit.

"You know, there is one Pokémon I could bring along who would definitely make things easier."

"Yeah?" Brock sat up, curious. "Who's that? Charizard?"

"Nah, not him." Ash stood up. "Hold on, I'm going to make a call to Professor Oak." He turned and headed toward the Pokémon transfer station, as the others watched him go, wondering who he was going to add to his roster.

* * *

"Alright, Ash, your Pokémon is on its way."

Ash grinned into the screen of the video phone, looking at the old man from his hometown, who had given him his Pikachu so many years ago. "Thanks a lot, Professor. Sorry for calling you so late."

"That's alright, Ash. But I wouldn't complain if you started making these sorts of calls in the daytime."

He smiled sheepishly. "Right, sorry. Have a good night."

"Best of luck in the Kalos League, Ash!" With that, Professor Oak hung up the phone to initiate the transfer. Thirty seconds later, the transfer station came to life, humming and glowing for a minute before quieting down, a Poké Ball appearing on a podium built into the device. Ash grinned and reached out to take it, before walking back to the main room, where his friends were waiting.

"Did you get your Pokémon, Ash?" Serena asked, sitting up.

"I sure did!" He grinned and threw the Poké Ball out in front of him. "Come on out!" The ball hit the ground, opening up and releasing the stored energy inside. A couple of seconds later, the energy had formed into a short, green, snake-like Pokémon with half-closed eyes and a smug expression. Serena and Brock looked at it curiously, while Iris, Axew and Pikachu immediately recognized it.

"Ah! It's Snivy!" she exclaimed, smiling wide. Serena took out her Pokédex and pointed it at the new arrival, as Pikachu rushed over to greet his old friend.

"Snivy, the Grass Snake Pokémon," the machine recited. "Being exposed to sunlight makes its movements swifter. It uses vines more adeptly than its hands."

Ash grinned wide, watching as Pikachu and Snivy clasped hands, happy to see each other once again. "Snivy's one of the best Pokémon I ever caught. She's really strong, and she can help my other Pokémon grow, too." He walked over and kneeled down next to Snivy, who looked back up at him.

"What do you say, Snivy? Want to help me take on the Kalos League?" She smiled and nodded in response, voicing her approval, glad to be part of a journey again instead of cooped up in Professor Oak's lab. Ash grinned wide, holding up his hand; Snivy responded by extending a vine from her collar, which reached up and smacked his hand for a high-five.

"Perfect," he said, as everyone else smiled and gathered around. "Now I'm ready to tackle anything." He looked around, glancing over the smiling faces of everyone around him. He felt like everything was finally in place, that everyone he needed was here with him. Nothing was going to stop him now.

The moment was interrupted as he felt a gentle tugging on his pant leg. Glancing down, he saw Pikachu looking back up at him, looking as if he might fall asleep at any moment. He grinned a bit and scooped his Pokémon up in his arms.

"Right, right," he spoke. "First we need to sleep, then I'll be ready to tackle anything." The others nodded and laughed, all of them suddenly tired, as everyone moved to get some rest.


	8. Snivy and the Plant Badge!

It wasn't until ten o'clock the next morning that Ash finally came down into the cafeteria of the Pokémon Center. All of them had slept in later than usual, desperately needing the rest after traveling from Laverre City, but Ash had stayed up far later than Iris and Brock, exchanging text messages with Serena. They had traded numbers before she left for her hotel, and they'd confirmed their plans for the next day, but they were both too giddy and excited to stop their conversation. They ended up talking about anything and everything under the sun, until Ash finally passed out after nearly two hours, unable to stay awake another second.

He yawned and rubbed his eye, getting a plate filled with breakfast food, then turning and scanning the tables. He quickly found Iris and Brock finishing up their own plates, as Axew and Pikachu were sitting happily, full and lazy. Brock was the first to spot him as he walked over.

"You're finally up," he remarked. "We were starting to think we wouldn't see you until lunchtime."

"Sorry, was just tired…" Ash sat down heavily next to him, digging in, as Iris pushed her empty plate aside.

"The Coumarine Gym's already open," she spoke, mentally telling herself not to judge him for staying up late. "We can get going as soon as you're done."

He shook his head in response, swallowing some hash browns. "We can't go right away. I need some time to prepare."

"Prepare? What do you mean?"

"I don't have any type advantages against Grass-type Pokémon," Ash explained. "I need to figure out what my strategy's going to be. Plus, I need to practice with Snivy. It's been a long time since we battled together."

Brock nodded, pleased that Ash was taking the upcoming Gym battle seriously. "When did you want to go, then?"

"I was planning on 2 p.m." Ash took another bite of breakfast.

"That's later than I thought," Iris chimed in. "Serena's meeting us there, right? Does she know the right time?"

"Yeah, she does. I let her know." He pulled out his phone, showing it off to her. "I sent her a text on my phone. The one I have, and know how to use."

She smirked. "I'm so proud."

They continued talking as Ash finished his breakfast, before he took his Pokémon out to a nearby battlefield to practice.

* * *

That afternoon, Ash, Iris and Brock made their way back to the Coumarine Gym, on the outskirts of the city. Climbing the giant tree that housed the structure, they made their way onto the battlefield, which rested on a large, flat bed of dirt, surrounded by greenery. They quickly found Ramos waiting on the other side, standing a bit hunched, his hands behind his back.

As Ash stepped into the challenger's position opposite Ramos, Pikachu sitting at his feet, his attention was drawn away by a voice calling out to him. Looking toward the left side of the battlefield, he smiled wide as he spotted Serena waving at him, standing a good distance back in the spectator area. She was wearing a more casual red-and-black dress, matching her hat, with what looked like a blue flower pinned to the front of it.

"Good luck, Ash!" she called out, as Brock and Iris walked in her direction, ready to spectate as well. He grinned and nodded, waving back, before turning his attention back to the Gym Leader facing him; Serena turned her attention toward the two walking toward her, greeting them warmly.

"Good to see you again, young man," Ramos called out. "Good dedication. Remind me your name?"

"Ash Ketchum, from the Kanto region," Ash replied. "I hope your Pokémon recovered alright."

"They're just fine, don't you worry about that." Ramos chuckled, appreciating the concern. "I remember our last battle now. I've made sure you'll be seeing some Pokémon you didn't encounter last time. Second badge, right?"

Ash nodded in response, as the Gym Leader continued. "Alright, then. Two Pokémon each. Take down both of mine, and you win the badge." He pulled a Poké Ball from his side, standing up straight for a moment as he tossed it into the arena. The ball opened, spitting out a brown, mole-like Pokémon covered in round, green armor.

"Quilladin, huh?" Serena muttered, recognizing the Pokémon, as Brock pulled out his Pokédex.

"Quilladin, the Spiny Armor Pokémon and the evolved form of Chespin. The hard shell covering Quilladin's body is so tough, a direct hit from a large truck wouldn't even dent it. Quillain uses this shell to deflect foes' attacks, and it strikes back with its sharp quills."

Ash nodded thoughtfully, not having expected this Pokémon, but not rattled by the choice. He reached for a Poké Ball of his own, smirking as he tossed it into the arena. "Snivy, let's go!" The snake Pokémon emerged from the ball, quickly sizing up her opponent, as Quilladin did the same. Pikachu gave Snivy an encouraging cheer.

"Both Pokémon are ready to battle!" the referee announced from the side of the battlefield. "The battle will begin… now!"

As the battle began, Ramos's Quilladin stood its ground, waiting for Snivy to make the first move. This was no problem for Ash, who was eager to begin the offensive.

"Leaf Storm, Snivy!" he called out, pointing forward dramatically. "Aim for its face!" The Pokémon leaped into the air, a number of sharp leaves appearing and swirling around her body, before they flew forward toward her opponent's face.

"Take out those leaves!" Ramos responded. "Vine Whip!" Quilladin cried out, two vines emerging and flying all about, cutting up and deflecting the leaves; a couple of them made it through, but the Pokémon was mostly unscathed. As soon as the attack was deflected, Quilladin went right back to biding its time, waiting for another attack, which Ash was eager to provide.

"Let's try to trip it up! Vine Whip!"

Snivy nodded, her own vines extending from her collar and zooming forward, aiming for her opponent's legs. Quilladin extended its own vines in response, and the two pairs of vines wrapped around each other tightly. Everyone watched as the two Pokémon engaged in an impromptu strength contest, each one trying to pull the other off their feet. After a good fifteen seconds of this, both Pokémon ended up losing their footing, falling onto their backs, as their vines detangled and retracted.

"This will be tricky," Iris commented to the other two, as Snivy got back to her feet. "Ash is trying to keep his distance, but Quilladin's defenses are solid. It'll be hard for him to win like this."

Brock nodded. "Snivy will have to go in for a stronger attack, but that's when a Pokémon like Quilladin is at its most dangerous." Serena listened to their analysis, keeping her eyes on the battle, trying to absorb their insight. Sitting on Iris's head, Axew leaned forward for a closer view of the fight, wondering what Snivy was going to try next.

Ash bit his lip, coming to the same conclusion as his friends; he was going to have to fight this battle on Ramos's terms. His Pokémon turned and glanced back at him, giving a nod, apparently in agreement.

"Alright, Snivy, use Leaf Blade! Be careful of its counterattack!"

The Pokémon dashed forward, the tip of her tail glowing as she ran. She leaped into the air and spun around, swinging her tail like a blade toward Quilladin's face. Her opponent turned as quickly as it could, managing to block just in time; the tail hit against its hard body, doing no damage.

"Needle Arm, Quilladin!" Ramos called out, having waited for this moment. His Pokémon spun back around, its arms glowing with spiky energy, slamming the spikes into Snivy's body; she cried out in pain as she was knocked roughly to the ground.

"You need more patience, youngster!" the Gym Leader continued, a mixture of amusement and disappointment in his voice, before turning his attention back to his Pokémon. "Finish it with Rollout!"

Snivy started getting slowly and painfully to her feet, turning toward her foe, eyes widening as she saw him rolling toward her at a high speed like a bowling ball. She didn't come close to getting out of the way before Quilladin impacted her, sending her flying across the arena.

"No! Snivy!" Ash called out, as she landed roughly on the ground, sliding a bit. She started to get to her feet before collapsing to her arms and knees, crying out in pain. She looked back at herself, seeing one leg splayed out, not responding, not holding up her weight.

"Oh my gosh," Serena uttered, covering her mouth with one hand. "I think something's wrong. Snivy's seriously hurt." Iris and Brock leaned in, eyes wide, worried that Ash's battle might be over just as it was starting. Ash gritted his teeth, stepping as close to the battlefield as he could, as if he was about to run in and scoop her up. Pikachu ran up to the edge as well, worried and wondering if he was going to have to go in next.

Across the battlefield, even Ramos and Quilladin looked concerned, not having intended to cause so much damage. Quilladin stepped forward nervously, almost apologetically, as Snivy glanced back at him, pain in her eyes, blinking slowly.

"Quilladin, you need to leave it alone, little buddy," Ramos offered. "These things happen sometimes." His Pokémon didn't respond, starting to run forward helpfully. Snivy offered an appreciative smile, as Iris carefully studied the Quilladin. Her eyes widened as she put the pieces together.

"Wait a minute! That's Attract!" she exclaimed, keeping her voice as low as her surprise will allow. "Snivy used Attract on him!" The other two's eyebrows raised as they watched carefully, wondering where this was going.

Ramos came to the same conclusion a couple of moments later, calling out to his Pokémon. "Quilladin, don't! Get back here! It's a trick! A ruse!" Unfortunately for him, Quilladin was much too far gone to respond, swept up in his sudden attraction for his foe.

Snivy smirked as her foe came within feet of her, more than eager to help her back up. Once he was close enough, her vines extended once again, wrapping around his body multiple times. She immediately stood up, almost completely unharmed, and leaped into the air, pulling her foe along with her. She spun around, swinging him through the air, before letting go and sending Quilladin flying into the ground with the force of a Seismic Toss, burying his head in the dirt. She landed daintily on her feet, eyes closed and arms akimbo, exceedingly proud of herself. Everyone but Ash stared, amazed and stupefied.

"Wow… I can't believe they both planned that out," Iris commented, waiting to see if Quilladin would get back up. "Our little Ash is using strategy." She grinned a bit, pleased and proud.

"I've never seen any Pokémon sell an Attract like that," Serena added, not entirely sure how she should feel about this deception. "Why did they put on that whole show? Couldn't Snivy just use Attract by itself?"

"That act wasn't for Quilladin," Brock offered thoughtfully. "They were trying to fool Ramos. They didn't want him realizing what was happening until it was too late." He rubbed his chin contemplatively. "What I'm wondering is how Ash knew that Quilladin was a male. Even I wasn't sure about that."

Serena watched the battlefield for a moment, thinking back to everything they had just seen, before coming to a realization. "Snivy told him. That nod she gave him, it was her confirming that it would work." They all watched, impressed for a variety of reasons, as Quilladin finally fell onto his back. The dazed look on his face was evident to everyone, including the referee.

"Quilladin is unable to battle!" he declared, raising a flag in Ash's direction. "Snivy is the winner! Gym Leader Ramos has one Pokémon left!"

"Great job, Snivy!" Ash declared, pumping his fist. "He didn't know what hit him!" Pikachu gave a loud cheer, clapping, as Snivy brimmed with confidence, which was her default state at all times.

Ramos sighed, reaching for his Poké Ball. "I know that feeling all too well, Quilladin," he commented cryptically, as his Pokémon returned to the ball. "Well, this changes things a bit… but it's nothing we can't handle."

He grabbed another Poké Ball from his side, glancing down at it, speaking to it just loudly enough for everyone to hear. "It's all on you, girl." He reared back and threw it into the arena, watching as it landed and ejected a Pokémon that looked like a tall tree, with a creepy red eye peeking out from the top of its trunk. Iris was the one to pull out her Pokédex this time, curious.

"Trevenant, the Elder Tree Pokémon," the machine recited in a mechanical voice. "This Pokémon controls trees via roots stretching from its feet, and it will attack anyone that dares to ravage the forest."

Serena's eyebrows raised a bit at the size disparity between the two. "Wow, that's big… this Pokémon isn't going to go down so easily, huh?"

"And it's a girl, according to Ramos," Brock added. "He must have been worried about Attract being used a second time. It's not going to work against another female."

"Not against most of them, anyway," Iris chipped in, as Serena glanced over at her curiously. "It's probably not worth the risk." Serena contemplated this for a moment before returning her gaze to the battlefield.

The referee raised both his flags. "Ramos's next Pokémon is ready! The battle begins… now!"

Trevenant quickly buried its roots in the ground, focusing intently. As Snivy looked back, she realized that it was starting to get darker in the gym. Looking around, she saw the trees starting to contract and form a dome around the battlefield, blocking out the sun. Ash looked up as well, surprised, but quickly realizing Ramos's strategy.

"I see what they're doing," Serena spoke, looking up with everyone else. "Snivy gains strength from sunlight, so Ramos is blocking it out." She glanced back down, thinking that Ash's Pokémon was going to need strength to take down such a large foe.

"Let's show them your strength, Trevenant!" Ramos called out. "Wood Hammer!"

The Pokémon responded by raising its claw in the air, a green aura forming around it and taking the shape of a hammer. It swung downward toward Snivy, who nimbly leaped out of the way as the hammer slammed into the ground, shaking the battlefield.

"We need to topple that tree!" Ash exclaimed. "Snivy, use Vine Whip!"

Snivy landed back on her feet and extended her vines out from her collar; they reached out and wrapped around Trevenant's claws tightly. She leaned back, trying her best to pull the tree Pokémon down, but her opponent dug her roots even more firmly into the ground. Trevenant didn't budge even an inch.

"Show that Snivy what strength is, Trevenant!" Ramos called out. His Pokémon roared and swung her claws about, pulling Snivy along and sending her flying into the air. She quickly retracted her vines, twirling about in the air and barely managing to land on her feet, hitting the ground hard.

Ash clenched his fist, thinking as quickly as he could, trying to come up with a plan. In the meantime, he needed to buy some time. "Leaf Storm, Snivy!"

Snivy nodded, raising her arms and forming a number of leaves around her, flinging them toward her opponent in a wide pattern. Ash watched as several of the leaves flew toward Trevenant's eye, expecting them to be blocked. Instead, he watched as the large Pokémon leaned down, using her claws to protect her roots instead, letting the leaves assault her eye freely. His eyebrows raised in surprise as Trevenant bristled, barely even registering any pain from the attack.

"Respond in kind! Magical Leaf!" Trevenant stood up in response to Ramos's command, summoning a number of leaves of her own, far more than Snivy had in her weakened state.

"Vine Whip, Snivy! Deflect as many as you can!"

Ash's Pokémon nodded, producing her vines once again and slicing them through the air, as the massive barrage of leaves flew in her direction. She took out as many as she could, with a number of them still getting through and glancing her. As she lowered her vines again, her eyes widened as a ball of ghostly flame flew in her direction, the Will-O-Wisp hitting her head-on. She cried out in pain as she flew backward, sliding along the ground, singed all over.

On the sidelines, the trio of friends felt their hearts sinking in unison. Trevenant was strong enough on its own, but after taking out Snivy's source of strength, she had become a massive powerhouse. They turned their heads toward Pikachu, expecting him to be sent in any minute. As they watched Snivy painfully get to her feet again, they breathed small sighs of relief.

"Are you okay, Snivy? Can you still fight?" Ash asked, kneeling down. Snivy turned back to him and nodded, her gaze resolute; he sighed and nodded, smiling in response. "Glad to hear it. I know how we're going to win this now."

"Wait, what?" Iris blinked. "He's going to win? What's his plan?"

"I don't know," Serena responded. "I guess we're about to see it." She was still skeptical, but she let some optimism take root, putting her faith in Ash's ability as a trainer.

Ramos smirked a bit, curious himself, but not foolish enough to wait and see what the plan was. "Don't give them the chance, Trevenant! Use Magical Leaf again!"

Snivy watched as another batch of glowing leaves appeared around her opponent, primed to attack. As soon as they flew toward her, she leaped out of the way, using her vines to give herself a boost and dodge the attack. As she landed, she used her vines once again to turn herself on a dime, flinging herself toward her imposing foe.

"Now!" Ash called out. "Leaf Blade! Attack the ground!"

Snivy's tail glowed once again, and she gave a battle cry as she flung herself around, swinging at the ground and scooping out a large chunk of ground around Trevenant's roots. As one of the roots became visible, Ash smirked confidently.

"That's what I wanted to see!" he called out. "Let's uproot that tree! Vine Whip!"

As Snivy landed, she whirled around quickly on one foot, her vines stretching out and grabbing the exposed root. Pulling as hard as she could, she managed to yank it out of the ground, as Trevenant cried out in frustration.

Once the root was removed from the ground, the sound of shifting branches could be heard throughout the arena. Everyone looked up at once to see that the trees had started to retract, and a beam of sunlight was starting to peek through the foliage. Ash grinned wide, his fist clenching involuntarily in excitement. His plan was working.

"Keep it up, Snivy! Take out every last root!"

Snivy nodded, energized from this success, and she whirled around to use another Leaf Blade. Trevenant swung her claws, flinging more Will-O-Wisps all over, trying desperately to stop her irritating foe from uprooting her; it was to no avail, as even in a weakened state, Snivy was too small and agile to be caught. As she pulled up one root after another, the trees continued to retract more and more, until eventually the entire battlefield was bathed in sunlight.

Before too long, Trevenant had no more roots left buried in the ground, and she lost all control of the trees around her. Snivy stood in the center of the arena, feeling strength coursing through her once again as the bright sun shone down on her. Ramos frowned, thinking of how to respond to this, while Ash's friends watched excitedly from the sidelines. Ash, for his part, had no intention of letting Ramos execute any more of his plans.

"Time to go on the offensive, Snivy! Leaf Storm!"

Once again, his Pokémon summoned a barrage of leaves, much larger than the last, sending them directly toward Trevenant's roots and eyes. The tree Pokémon cried out in pain, in stark contrast to the previous attack, and she started moving for the first time since the battle began, trying to flee the assault. Ash grinned wide; this was exactly what he was waiting for.

"Let's finish it!" he called out. "Grass Knot!"

Snivy nodded, her eyes glowing green, and she thrust her arms out toward her fleeing foe. As she did, a number of vines appeared out of the ground, ensnaring Trevenant's roots and throwing it off balance.

"Oh, here we go…" Brock spoke to himself, recognizing the move. Grass Knot was an attack that was more effective the larger its opponent was, and against a foe as large as Trevenant, it was bound to cause a huge amount of damage. Everyone watched with rapt attention as Trevenant cried out, toppling over and landing painfully on the ground, kicking up a huge cloud of dirt. Ash had to resist the urge to yell "timber" as it happened.

When the cloud cleared away, everyone in the room got a clear look at Trevenant's face, and the dazed expression that adorned it. Brock, Iris and Serena all cheered in excitement as the referee raised his flag in Ash's direction.

"Trevenant is unable to battle! Ash and Snivy have won this Gym Battle!"

"Yes!" Ash leaped into the air, amped and amazed that his Pokémon had done so well. Pikachu ran out onto the field, excitedly clasping hands with Snivy and cheering, offering words of praise in his language. Ramos sighed as he returned Trevenant to her Poké Ball, disappointed in himself, but pleased that his opponent had unquestionably earned his victory.

"Maybe I'm starting to lose my touch in my old age," he muttered to himself, walking out into the center of the battlefield, as Ash did the same. He reached into his vest pocket, producing a green badge in the shape of a rounded leaf, handing it over. "You don't have anything to complain about, though. You've definitely earned this Plant Badge."

"Thanks a lot, Ramos." Ash took it gently, looking it over, still grinning from ear to ear.

"That's one very special Snivy you have there, youngster," the Gym Leader continued. "And she's got a skilled Trainer, to boot. Keep this up, and the Pokémon League won't know what hit it." He reached up and adjusted his cap. "You take care, now." Ash nodded again, turning and walking toward the sidelines, where his friends were rushing over.

"Great work, Ash!" Brock exclaimed. "That was a tough foe to take down. You both did really well."

"That was a great battle all around," Iris added, smiling wide. "You really earned that badge."

"Thanks, guys." Ash grinned back. "Wasn't just luck this time, huh?" Iris smirked back at him, as Serena kneeled down to congratulate his Pokémon.

"You did great too, Snivy! You were really impressive out there!" She reached down to shake hands gently, which Snivy accepted, always eager for praise. Serena could feel the strength in Snivy's handshake, despite the size difference between the two of them.

Ash smiled and glanced down at the two of them, watching them celebrate, when his eye was drawn to the blue flower pinned to Serena's dress. Upon closer inspection, he realized it wasn't a flower at all; it was actually a blue ribbon, woven intricately into a pattern resembling a blooming flower. His eyes widened as he realized what it was.

"Serena," he spoke, gazing at the ribbon as she stood back up. "Is that…?" She looked back at him, following his gaze downward; she beamed when she realized what he was looking at.

"Yeah." She nodded, thrilled that he had recognized the gift he had given to her so long ago. "It's the same one."

He looked back up, their eyes meeting. "You kept it all this time?"

"I told you I would." She smiled at him warmly. "You didn't believe me?"

"No, I did, just…" He smiled back at her, flushing lightly. "It's just nice to see." Her smile widened as she turned pink as well. She could feel everyone else's eyes on her and Ash, watching this exchange, but right now she was too happy to feel self-conscious.

"Well, shall we go?" she spoke after a moment. Everyone else nodded, as they turned toward the entrance to the Gym, making their way back to the Pokémon Center. Snivy led the charge, not interested in returning to her Poké Ball, taking a self-satisfied victory march back into downtown Coumarine City.

* * *

_To see what Ash and Serena said to each other, read the story "Message Received"._


	9. A Performance Battle Primer!

The day after Ash won his Plant Badge, he and his friends were taking their time waking up and getting ready to travel again. Serena had eaten a bit earlier than the rest, as she needed to make a video call and see if there were any news updates for the Kalos Showcase participants. Ash, Brock and Iris were taking their time eating breakfast, not in any hurry to get going.

After finishing his meal, Ash sat back happily, holding his stomach. "Oof, that hit the spot." He glanced back at his companions. "Well, are you guys ready to hit the road again? At a reasonable pace this time."

Brock nodded, wiping his mouth. "All recharged and ready to go. I think I'm ready to spend a few more nights in a sleeping bag."

"Same here," Iris agreed. "Honestly, after traveling like we did for two days, you come to appreciate a real bed a lot more."

Ash grinned, standing up. "Well, traveling to Lagoon Town will be a lot easier. We won't run like that again, I promise."

"It's alright, Ash," she responded, as she and Brock also stood, grabbing their plates to return them. "It was worth it. Serena will be a good companion to travel with." Brock nodded in agreement, as they all returned their dishes to the dish drop. They walked out of the cafeteria to go and fetch Serena, finding her near the video phones just as she was hanging up.

"Ready to go, Serena?" Ash called out. "Any news?"

She turned around in her chair, smiling as they approached. "Hey, guys! Yeah, there was news. They said that they're going to start incorporating Performance Battles later in the season."

"Performance Battles?" Brock asked, curious, not having recognized those from his program. "Are those like… Pokémon battles, but pretty?"

"Basically, yeah." She stood up. "They're supposed to show off the artistry of a well-choreographed battle. I've seen them once or twice before, but never participated in one."

"Well, that sounds fun to watch, but… are you supposed to be in charge of both of the battling Pokémon?" Ash wondered. He looked upward, trying to picture it in his mind, imagining himself yelling commands at two different Pokémon, repeatedly turning his head back and forth.

Serena shook her head. "No, it's not a solo thing. Each performer is supposed to find what's called a Battle Partner, who will be on stage with them. They're going to be part of the performance, too." She stepped closer as she looked into his eyes, hands clasped in front of her, wanting to make it as hard as possible for him to refuse her request. "Ash, would you be my Battle Partner?"

Ash smiled and nodded, not needing to be buttered up. "Sure! Sounds like fun!"

"Great, thank you!" She smiled wide, relieved and excited. "We can start getting some practice in once we've been on the road for a little bit."

"Sounds good to me." They all turned and headed for the door, stepping outside and making their way toward Route 12.

* * *

Four hours later, the crew had come to a stop in a clearing with a small campsite, ready to rest their feet and eat some lunch before they continued on. Brock was working on a meal with Iris's help, while Ash and Serena were standing across from each other as if they were on a battlefield, ready to practice. Serena had her Delphox out in front of her, while Ash was relying on Pikachu.

"So how is this going to work?" he asked, glancing down at the space between them, where their Pokémon would be battling. "What are we practicing? Isn't the whole battle going to be choreographed?"

She nodded. "It will be, but even if it's choreographed, a partner still needs to be able to follow a lead. That's what we're practicing." She gestured toward her Pokémon. "Delphox and I will lead, and you think of how Pikachu should respond. Remember, it's not about winning, it's about being fun to watch."

"Got it." He glanced downward. "You ready to go, Pikachu?" Pikachu looked back at him and nodded affirmatively, a little unsure of how this was going to go, but ready to give it his all for Serena's sake.

"Let's get started, then," Serena announced. "Delphox, start with Fire Blast!"

Her Delphox nodded, raising the flaming stick in her hand and slowly raising it to her mouth, deliberately moving slower for Ash's sake. He watched, mind racing through Pikachu's moves; normally, he would just have his Pokémon dodge, but he knew that wouldn't be interesting to watch. After a couple seconds, he thought of an idea, just as Delphox launched her attack.

"Pikachu, try to counter it with Electroweb!"

Pikachu nodded, forming a ball of electricity on its tail and flinging it out, watching as it stretched out and formed a web. The two attacks collided in midair, canceling each other out, but leaving an afterimage of a glowing web of flame in the air for a few seconds.

Serena smiled wide, both pleased and impressed. "Good work, Ash! Now let's see…" She started thinking of her next move, but before she could, she heard Ash calling out a second time.

"Pikachu, use Electroweb again!"

She blinked. "Wait, hold it!" Her call came too late, as another electric web was flung toward her Pokémon. Delphox yelped and tried to get out of the way, but the web managed to wrap itself around her tail, sending a painful shock through her.

"Ash, what are you doing? I lead, you follow, remember?" Serena shot him a disapproving glare as Delphox shook off the attack; Ash shrunk down a bit, embarrassed, as did Pikachu.

"Sorry… just got caught up…"

She sighed. "Well, let's try again. Does Pikachu have any other… flashy moves besides Electroweb?"

Ash frowned, thinking to himself. "I mean, not really, honestly. He's been trained to win battles, not to look cute doing it." Pikachu turned around, shooting him a skeptical glance, thinking that he looked pretty cute all the time.

"Well, maybe you can try someone else?"

"Probably…" He looked downward. "Sorry, Pikachu. Come on back." His Pokémon sighed, walking dejectedly back to him, as Ash grabbed a Poké Ball and tossed it out, summoning Snivy to the field.

"Snivy, want to try your hand at a Performance Battle?" he asked. She turned around and nodded affirmatively, feeling much more confident than he was.

Serena stepped back into position, ready to get back into it. "Delphox, charge forward!" Her Pokémon nodded, running at Snivy with a bit of a graceful gait. Ash's instinct was to counter, but he suppressed it, choosing another option.

"Snivy! Dodge it by… going overhead!"

Snivy nodded, using her vines to launch herself into the air and over Delphox's head. She spun around as she did so, her vines turning about like ribbons, before she landed daintily on her feet like a ballerina. Both trainer and performer sighed in relief, glad to see that Snivy seemed to have a natural performing instinct.

"Let's keep it up!" Serena called out. "Fire Spin, Delphox!"

Delphox raised her stick once again, drawing circles in the air before sending flaming rings at the opposing Pokémon.

Ash grinned, feeling more confident. "Snivy, jump through and use Leaf Storm!" He watched as Snivy formed a mass of leaves around her, flinging them forward as she jumped through the flaming ring, causing all of the leaves to catch fire. Delphox quickly danced away from the flaming projectiles, before turning around to watch them fly straight toward Ash.

Serena gasped, as Ash's eyes widened in panic. He tried to quickly back away, but ended up stumbling and falling onto his back, the flaming leaves just barely passing by him.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?!" Serena ran across the field to where he was laying down, as the two Pokémon stood around him as well. He continued to lie still on his back, looking up at the sky; the fiery projectiles had left parallel lines of black soot on his face, making him look like he had just been taken off of a grill.

"Maybe we should try this after lunch," he spoke.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, all four of the travelers were sitting at a picnic table, finishing up their lunch; their Pokémon were sitting in the grass, out of their Poké Balls, eating their own food. Serena finished her meal first, wanting to get back to practicing, now that she knew how much work was going to be needed. Ash took his time, finishing last, much more reluctant to resume.

"Thanks for lunch, guys," he commented as he pushed his plate away.

Brock nodded, as Iris reached out to take his plate, starting to clean up. "Going to practice some more, Ash?"

"Yeah, I guess so." He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table, frowning. "This Performance Battle stuff is a lot harder than I was expecting. It feels like all of my battle instincts are wrong."

"You shouldn't think of it as a battle," Serena responded, standing up. "In a Pokémon battle, you're trying to overcome and defeat your opponent. A Performance Battle is about working together with the other person. It's more like a dance."

"Well, that explains why I'm so bad at it," Ash replied, sighing. "I'm no good at dancing, either."

"What do you mean? Didn't you dance with Miette at Monsieur Pierre's party, way back when?"

He slumped forward, chin resting on the table, not appreciating the reminder of that embarrassment. "The less said about that, the better."

Serena's eyebrows shot up. "And you've never learned how?!"

Ash glanced up a bit, surprised to hear her so bothered by this. Before he could respond, however, she had already marched around to his side of the table, reaching her hand out toward him.

"All right, Ash, get up! On your feet!"

He sat up, eyebrows raised, a bit shocked at her forcefulness. "Right now? Are you serious?"

"Yes, I'm serious," she replied. "Right now, let's go."

He glanced down at her hand for a moment, a bit stupefied, before taking it. He stood up and followed her away from the table, knowing better than to argue with her when she was using this tone of voice.

* * *

Several minutes later, slow music was playing from Serena's phone as it rested on the picnic table. Brock and Iris were sitting at it, watching with morbid curiosity as Ash and Serena practiced dancing, holding each other lightly as she tried to lead him about. She was trying her best not to get frustrated with the lack of progress, but Ash's nerves were making him particularly resistant to learning.

"Ash, you're nearly a whole foot away from me. The whole point of slow dancing is to be close to someone."

"I'm sorry, I can't help it," he replied, glancing down at the gap between them. "I'm worried that I'm going to step on your feet."

"Well, worry less," she responded quickly. "If you step on my feet, at least you're learning where not to step. You're not learning anything all the way over there. Just stay close."

She took a step closer to him, closing the gap, their faces inches apart. "You want to be close to me, don't you?" she asked, her voice quiet, her eyes on his.

Ash quickly flushed red, looking back into her eyes. "W-well… yeah…" he stammered in response, taken aback by the sudden intensity.

She gave him a soft smile. "You just need to relax, and get out of your own head. Just do what comes naturally." She started moving again, taking a step and turning a bit, trying to lead him in her direction. Ash lagged behind her steps a bit, taking a millisecond too long to realize she was moving, and he tried to quickly turn in order to compensate. The momentum of his sudden turn nearly knocked her off her feet, and she yelped as she fought to regain her balance, which she quickly did.

She sighed, getting more visibly frustrated. "Okay, that was too relaxed…"

"Ugh, this is hard to watch." Ash felt a hand tugging on the back of his shirt, turning around to see Iris standing there, looking even more frustrated than Serena. "Step aside, Ash. This obviously isn't working." She pulled harder, tugging him away from his instructor. As he stepped back, Iris quickly took his place in Serena's arms, causing her to flush pink, surprised.

Once she was in position, Iris turned and looked back at him. "I'm going to show you how this is done. Watch how I dance with her, and then try to do what I do, got it?"

He nodded, embarrassed that it had come to this, but wanting to do better for Serena's sake. Iris turned back and nodded toward her new dancing partner, prompting her to start. Serena was both shocked and impressed at Iris's forcefulness; as the two of them started slowly dancing together, she wondered if she should adopt a similar attitude with Ash.

Ash stepped back, sitting next to a stone-faced but highly amused Brock at the table, as they watched the two girls dance. He carefully studied Iris's movements, watching where she stepped, and how she responded to Serena's lead; he wasn't sure he was absorbing anything, but he tried to take in as much as he could. Serena quickly relaxed as she realized that Iris was a much more skilled dancer than her previous partner, smiling and letting herself have fun.

"You're good at this," she said, grinning as she spun Iris about.

Iris smirked as she spun, effortlessly getting back into position as they kept dancing. "It's not like it's hard. You just need a partner who knows what she's doing."

Ash kept up his intense focus, watching as the two girls moved together, noting how perfectly in sync the two of them were. A minute later, his eyebrows shot up as something suddenly clicked in his mind.

"That's it!" he exclaimed suddenly, standing up, causing the two dancers to quickly stop.

"Yeah?" Iris glanced back at him, smiling. "You think you have it now? Want to try again?"

"No, not that!" His eyes moved toward the other dancer. "Serena, Iris should be your Battle Partner!"

Both of the two girls paused, not expecting that suggestion. They turned and looked back at each other, contemplating the idea.

* * *

Minutes later, Serena and Iris were standing across from each other in a battlefield configuration, just as Serena and Ash had been thirty minutes ago. Serena had her Delphox out once again, while Iris was using an Altaria, which Ash had never seen her with before.

"Let's see what you've got, Iris!" Serena called out. "Delphox, Flamethrower!"

Iris watched as Delphox summoned a stream of fire from her lit stick. She was unfazed, knowing how to respond, barely having to think about it.

"Stop it with Dragon Breath, Altaria!"

Her Pokémon cried out, stretching its neck out forward and issuing a green beam of energy, with white rings around it. The two attacks collided in the middle, the flames shooting outward in rings, fading just as they started reaching the picnic table.

Ash and Brock sat nearby and watched, impressed, as Altaria started using Steel Wing near Delphox's feet, prompting the fox Pokémon to dance elegantly out of the way of each attack. Serena and Iris soon started to issue commands more quickly, clearly on the same wavelength, as their Pokémon half-battled and half-danced around the clearing. They eventually landed together in the middle of what would have been the arena, Delphox leaping in as Altaria swooped down, striking a dynamic pose as they finished. Brock and Ash quickly stood up, applauding, as Pikachu cheered from around Ash's feet.

"That was great!" Brock called out. "You two really work well together!"

"You sure do," Ash added. "If that's what you two are like without practice, those other performers don't stand a chance!"

Serena smiled wide as she walked forward, thanking them both, before focusing back on the girl in front of her. "You really are good at this. Would you mind being my Battle Partner, Iris?"

"Sure I will." Iris nodded in response, smiling back. "That was a lot of fun. I can't wait to see what it's like on stage!" Serena grinned, and the two of them quickly shared an excited high-five, before they turned to help pack up the cooking equipment. A few minutes later, all of them were back on the road.

* * *

Later that night, all four of them were sitting around a campfire, relaxing after a tasty dinner courtesy of Brock. The girls were discussing ideas for their routine for quite some time, as the boys partly listened, while partly making conversation with themselves. After an hour or so, they all agreed to retire to their tents, ready for sleep. Serena and Brock quickly disappeared into their tents, as Iris let Axew into hers.

Ash walked more slowly back to his tent and unzipped the door, with Pikachu walking in as soon as he did, ready for some rest. He started to follow his Pokémon, but he paused as he heard a hushed voice from behind him.

"You think you're pretty clever, don't you?" He turned around quickly, seeing Iris standing there, arms folded and eyes glaring at him.

"What are you talking about?" He cocked his head, confused.

"You know what I'm talking about. I mean you managing to finagle your way out of being Serena's Battle Partner." She folded her arms more tightly, eyes narrowing. "Are you proud of yourself?"

"What's the big deal?" he responded defensively, keeping his voice low so the others wouldn't overhear. "She has you as her partner now. She's going to do just fine."

She placed her hands on her hips, leaning forward. "She didn't want just any partner, Ash. She wanted her partner to be you! She wants to spend more time with you, you dolt!"

"I know that!" he shot back. "That's what I want, too! But I'm not going to put her Showcase dreams at risk just for that. I'm not the partner she needs. I'm no performer."

Iris was unsympathetic. "I'm no performer, either, but I figured it out quickly enough."

"Right. Because you know how to dance, or whatever." He turned around, not interested in more of this conversation.

"Exactly." She reached out and grasped his sleeve tightly. "And that's why you're going to learn, right now."

"What?" He turned back around to face her, incredulous. "Are you joking?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" she responded angrily.

He studied her face quickly; she did not look like she was joking. He thought about pulling away and refusing, but he knew Iris well enough to know that she was going to win that battle, with the mood she was in. He sighed, deciding it was better to just agree, and not cause a scene.

"Ugh, fine." He brushed her hand away. "If I have to."

"You do have to," she responded, taking a step back. "Honestly, Ash, five years later and you're still such a little kid."

She started walking into the nearby forest, looking for someplace for the two of them to practice, as he followed her, unable to believe he was in this situation again. Pikachu watched curiously from Ash's tent as they left, but ultimately decided not to interfere with whatever was going on. He walked back in, curling up and quickly falling asleep.

After a couple minutes of walking, Iris spotted a small clearing among the trees, and quickly moved toward it. "There. That's a good spot." Ash followed her, his expression having changed from annoyed to confused.

"Iris," he spoke. "Why are you doing this? What does it matter to you?"

She glanced back at him as she walked, her expression softening. "I can see how happy she makes you, Ash," she replied, her voice gentle. "I just don't want you to screw it up."

He was a bit surprised by this answer, but he quickly nodded in response, appreciating her concern. "Yeah… me neither."

They both stopped and faced each other as they stood in the clearing, taking their positions, as the lesson began.


	10. Team Ace and the Rocket Chase!

The next day, Ash and his friends were back on Route 12, traveling at a slow but steady clip toward Lagoon Town, where Serena's next showcase was taking place. While Ash and Brock were traveling in relative quiet, Iris and Serena were once again discussing their plans for their upcoming Performance Battles, specifically how much time they had to prepare.

"So there aren't going to be any Performance Battles at the next showcase?"

Serena shook her head, looking back at an inquisitive Iris. "They're giving everyone some time to find partners and get their routines ready. The showcases will start incorporating them in a few weeks."

Iris nodded. "Huh. So it sounds like we might not have to do many of these, at the end of the day."

"Maybe not, no." Serena nodded in response. "If I'm lucky, we may only need to do one, in Lumiose City. If I'm ridiculously lucky, we won't have to do any, but that will never happen."

"Why not?" Ash glanced backward.

"That would mean winning my first three showcases, one after the other, and that's not going to happen."

"It might!" he responded, optimistic. "You were great in your first showcase. Don't sell yourself short."

Serena laughed. "Thanks, Ash, but I'm not selling myself short. I'm being realistic. I'm pretty sure nobody has ever done it before." She playfully kicked her feet forward as the group walked through a patch of dead leaves, strewing them about. "The competition is just tough. It always is."

Iris nodded. "Well, I don't mind doing-" She quickly cut herself off, stopping short as she realized that Ash and Brock were no longer moving. Ash was holding his arm out in front of him, stopping Brock from taking another step, and the girls behind him quickly stopped as well.

"Hold it, guys," he spoke, eyeing the ground in front of him carefully. "This doesn't seem right."

"What doesn't seem right?" Serena stood on her toes, looking over Ash's arm, seeing a large patch of leaves strewn about in front of them. He didn't answer, kneeling down and poking at the patch of leaves, before pounding his fist on it, as Pikachu leaned in curiously from his shoulder. After a couple of firm pounds, everyone else jumped as the leaf patch fell away, collapsing into what looked like a twenty-foot pit.

"What the…?" Iris exclaimed, stepping closer and looking more closely. "Did someone seriously put some sort of trap in the middle of the road? Who does that?!"

"Who was that supposed to capture?" Serena wondered aloud, unnerved. "That… wasn't meant for us, was it?"

"Maybe it was," Brock answered, frowning, arms folded. "There's only one kind of person I know of who does things like thiWHOAH!"

He yelped as he was quickly and suddenly lifted off of the ground, along with all three of his screaming companions and their Pokémon. Once the dust had settled, they all found themselves trapped and tangled together in a large net, hanging from the branch of a nearby tree.

"What the heck?!" Ash looked around at the upside-down world around him, disoriented. "What's going on?!" He tried to turn himself around, eyebrows raising as he heard a familiar laugh, one that caused his stomach to drop.

"Hahaha! Nobody expects the booby trap to be booby-trapped!" a female voice called out. "A simple but brilliant plan!" Ash watched with wide eyes as a familiar pair stepped out of the trees, walking underneath them. He would never forget that combination of blue and red hair for the rest of his life, or the small cat-like Pokémon at their feet.

"You two again?! You've got to be kidding me!"

Jessie smirked up at him confidently. "Good to see you twerps again, too. Now… prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!" James added, brushing his hair back, trying his best to look cool.

"To protect… to protect the…" Jessie paused for a moment, her expression blank. "Wait… how does this go again?"

"It's…" James racked his memory, eyes widening as it came up short, holding his head in one hand. "I don't know… it's been so long since we've said it, I've completely forgotten!"

"You can remember our motto later, you nincompoops!" Meowth pointed upward at the net of teenagers they had captured. "We've got work to do!"

"Right!" James quickly came to his senses, raising his hand, which held some kind of claw device at the end of a pole. Moving around the base of the net and looking upward, he grinned as he spotted the target he was searching for. He aimed the claw upward and extended it toward their captives; seconds later, the claw managed to snag Pikachu and yank him out through one of the large holes in the net.

"No! Pikachu, use Thunder Bolt, quickly!" Ash called out, panicking. His Pokémon started charging up electricity, ready to zap his attacker, but before he had the chance, a small panel extended from the claw, and a large, transparent, rubber ball quickly formed around Pikachu. When the Thunder Bolt attack was finally unleashed, it bounced around uselessly inside the non-conductive sphere.

"We did it! A perfect heist!" Jessie reached out and snagged Pikachu off of the end of the claw, grinning from ear to ear. "The boss is going to fall in love with us when he sees this!"

"Argh! I can't believe this!" Ash yelled down at them, trying his best to move in any way, which was a difficult task in their current position. "You haven't bothered me in years! I thought I was finally rid of you!"

Jessie smirked up at him. "Counting us out was your biggest mistake!"

"Now Pikachu's free for us to take!" James continued, slapping the side of the rubber ball.

"And now a daring escape we'll make!" Meowth concluded, as all three of them ran off down Route 12 in the direction of Lagoon Town, on cloud nine, leaving the four teens hanging awkwardly in the net.

"No! We have to go after them!" Ash tried again to move, wanting to get closer to the top of the net, but he was barely able to budge, due to his awkward position and the weight of the others bearing down on him.

"How are we supposed to chase them? I can't move an inch!" Iris responded, wriggling about. "And who has their hand on my butt?!"

"It's not on purpose!" Brock insisted, red-faced, also trying and failing to move. "I'm stuck, too!"

"Ouch! Ash, you're elbowing me!" Serena protested, feeling his elbow digging further and further into her side.

"Sorry! I just need to reach my Pokémon…!" After shifting his elbow a bit, Ash managed to get his pinky finger on the button of one of his Poké Balls; he quickly pressed it, not caring which one it was. He sighed in relief, glancing down as the energy from the ball was deposited onto the ground below, forming into his Skorupi.

"Skorupi! Climb up here and cut us free!" The Pokémon quickly sprang into action, climbing up the tree as fast as possible, then traveling along the branch. He crawled along the outside of the net, causing several of them to yelp as they felt his feet brushing against their backs, as he started cutting away at the net with his claws. As he clipped more and more of the ropes, everyone could feel themselves shifting downward more and more, until they all spilled out of the net and landed on the ground in a large pile.

They all quickly detangled themselves, standing up as fast as they could, as Ash returned Skorupi to his Poké Ball. "After them! We have to get Pikachu back!" All of them quickly took off down the road, praying that they could catch up.

* * *

Several hundred yards away, the former members of Team Rocket were sitting in the basket of one of their trademark Meowth balloons, heating up the gas inside, getting ready to take off. Pikachu was still trapped in his rubber prison, repeatedly slamming his Iron Tail against it in a bid to break free, but he was unable to get the leverage he needed to break through.

"And here I thought we were wasting our time by keeping this last balloon on hand," Jessie commented, looking upward at the giant Meowth head. "Who knew it would fly us back into the arms of Team Rocket?"

"The boss is going to flip when he sees what Pikachu here can do!" Meowth exclaimed cheerfully. "Finally, we ain't gonna be complete screw-ups anymore!"

Soon, the gas in the balloon was sufficiently heated, and they felt themselves starting to take off, rising above the tree line. All three of them had ear-to-ear smiles, already imagining their reinstitution into Team Rocket, with new outfits, new supplies, and occasional pay. James glanced downward, watching the ground as they flew away, when something caught his eye that caused him to groan.

"Oh, boo. Looks like they're already trying to spoil the party." Jessie and Meowth looked downward, following his eyes, seeing Ash and his friends running after them as fast as they could.

Down below, Iris was reaching for the Poké Balls at her waist, being the only one among them who had any flying Pokémon on hand. She grabbed two of them and quickly tossed them out in front of her, with the Pokémon inside quickly emerging.

"Altaria! Dragonite! Fly up there and get Pikachu back!" Both Pokémon quickly took off, flying upward toward the slowly-rising balloon, which was still fairly close to the ground.

Jessie sighed. "They have to make this difficult, don't they?" She reached down into the basket of the balloon, pulling out what looked like a hollow bazooka, with fans built into either end of the barrel. "Oh, well. At least now we get to use the fun stuff."

Both of the approaching Pokémon eyed the device carefully as they flew closer, not sure what it was going to do. Jessie quickly took aim at Altaria, pulling the trigger of the gun, causing the fans in it to spin wildly, as a sound like a jet engine rang out. Altaria was immediately knocked off course as a massive blast of air slammed into it, causing it to flap its wings wildly in an attempt to regain its balance.

"Direct hit!" Meowth cheered, hanging onto the edge of the basket and watching the action. Jessie grinned wide, taking aim at Dragonite and firing again, watching as he had to wildly dodge to avoid the blast.

From down below, Iris watched nervously as her Pokémon tried time and again to get close to the balloon, which was slowly getting farther away. She cupped her hands to her mouth, shouting out a command while she could still be heard.

"Dragonite! Hyper Beam! Keep moving while you do it, and take out the balloon!"

Dragonite snorted, irritated with these foes and more than happy to launch an attack. He opened his mouth, a yellow ball of energy forming in it, as Altaria tried one more time to fly in close. It started to focus, preparing a Dragon Pulse, when James suddenly pulled out an air bazooka of his own, grinning wide.

"Happy landings!" he called out, pulling the trigger and scoring a direct hit. Altaria flew backwards toward the ground, slamming into Dragonite on the way, causing the Hyper Beam to fire off harmlessly into the blue sky. Both Pokémon hit the ground heavily, dazed and sore.

"Oh no!" Iris ran over to both of them, checking on them to make sure they were alright. Ash, Brock and Serena watched the balloon fly farther and farther away, their hearts sinking, having no idea how they were going to get Pikachu back now.

"And that is that!" Jessie proclaimed, lowering her air bazooka and wearing a triumphant smirk. "Finally, after all these years, we've beaten back those twerps! They won't be stopping us now!"

James grinned wide, his chest puffing out proudly. "So this is what success feels like… I could really get used to this." He lowered his weapon as well. "This is the first day of a new chapter in our lives!"

All three of them turned toward each other, sharing a three-way high five and laughing happily. Their celebrations were quickly interrupted, however, by the sound of something like small airplanes approaching them quickly. They stopped and turned toward the sound, eyes widening as they saw two people flying through the sky toward them, wearing helmets with visors, jetpacks, and what looked like jet wings on their backs.

"No, no, no, not now!" Jessie started to panic, recognizing them immediately, not having prepared for this. "Not them, not when we're so close!" Both she and James reached down for their weapons again as the two airborne travelers quickly grew closer.

Back on the ground, everyone turned their attention to these new challengers as they approached. Ash, Brock and Iris were both confused and curious, not sure what sort of people traveled Kalos flying through the sky. Serena recognized them immediately, gasping.

"Ah!" Her eyes lit up excitedly. "No way! It's the Ace Patrol!"

"Huh?" Brock glanced in her direction. "The what patrol?"

"The Ace Patrol!" she reiterated, stepping forward for a closer look. "They travel around Kalos to help people in need! I can't believe they're here!" Ash took a step closer after her, watching as the two patrollers came to a stop on either side of the balloon, hovering in the air as Jessie and James pulled out their air weapons.

"So Team Rocket is still in Kalos after all!" one of the patrollers spoke into the microphone built into her helmet, communicating with her partner. "We'll take care of you guys!" She reached down to her side, pulling out a Poké Ball and pressing the button on the front. "Let's go, Hawlucha!"

Her partner nodded, pulling out a Poké Ball of his own. "You too, Staraptor! Let's stop these pesky criminals!"

Seconds later, both the Hawlucha and the Staraptor had emerged from their Poké Balls. Jessie and James started firing air blasts at them, desperate to keep them away, but both birds darted away, much too agile to be hit. The two patrollers took the blasts head on, both of them being knocked away, but they managed to regain control and fly back into position.

"Get them!" James called out, firing wildly. "Lead your shots! Get them away from the balloon!"

The male patroller called out, trying to be heard over the sound of jets and air bazookas. "Staraptor, use Steel Wing! Take out that giant Meowth!"

Staraptor cawed in response, flying closer, as its wings sharpened and turned as hard as steel, glowing white. Dodging multiple blasts, it flew right along the side of the balloon, slicing an enormous hole in the side. Hot air immediately began rushing out, sending the entire balloon flying in the direction of Lagoon Town, as the basket started shaking about wildly.

"Whoa! Hang on!" Jessie cried out, gripping the basket for dear life, as James and Meowth did the same. As it rocked about, wildly moving up and down, the rubber ball containing Pikachu eventually bounced its way out, starting to fall to Earth.

"No! Pikachu! Come back, please!" James called out, despondent, reaching out with one hand as if he could summon it back, but he quickly grabbed the basket again, not wanting to fall out himself. All three of them watched in despair as their futures slipped away, as the balloon continued flying away and sinking, eventually crashing into the trees.

Ash gasped as he saw Pikachu falling through the sky, running forward to try and catch him, even though he knew in the back of his mind that he wouldn't make it in time. Shortly before he hit the ground, one of the patrollers managed to swoop down and snatch the ball out of the sky, holding it tight as she turned herself upright and slowly lowered herself to the ground.

"You there! Is this your Pikachu?" she called out, turning off her jetpack, as Ash approached, with his friends close behind.

"It is!" he exclaimed, overjoyed as he ran right up to her. "Thank you so much for saving him!"

"My pleasure," she answered, handing the ball over to Ash. He looked it over, finding a button on the top and pressing it, causing the rubber to retract and release his Pokémon. As soon as he was free, Pikachu leaped happily into his trainer's arms, as Ash held him tightly, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Sorry that Team Rocket was troubling you," the male patroller called out, landing and turning his jetpack off as well, as the others ran up behind Ash. "Hopefully they won't be bothering you again. If they do, though, you can always call on Team Ace to lend you a hand."

"Team Ace?" Iris asked, curious. "That's who you are?"

"That's right," the girl answered, launching into a well-rehearsed monologue. "We're dedicated to improving the lives of all the citizens of Kalos, in every way we can. Crime fighting, philanthropy, community outreach, we do it all!"

Serena smiled wide, nodding, highly familiar. "Thank you so much for helping us. We really owe you for this."

"No need for that," the man answered. "Just pay it forward at your next opportunity." Both patrollers turned their jetpacks back on. "All of you, stay safe!" All four teens watched, along with Axew and Pikachu, as the pair flew off into the sky, off to find more crimes to fight.

"Geez, talk about a lucky break," Brock commented. "I don't know what we would have done if the Ace Patrol hadn't come by."

"Me neither," Ash agreed, looking down at the Pokémon in his arms. "I can't believe I have to deal with Team Rocket again, after so long. What a pain."

Serena frowned and nodded. "At least we're not fighting them alone this time. Hopefully Team Ace helps keep them off our backs."

Iris agreed, starting to walk along the road again, Axew back in his usual perch. "We should get into town as soon as we can. I'd hate to run into them a second time." Everyone else agreed, resuming their walk toward town at a much quicker pace than before.

* * *

Some ways away, the wreckage of the destroyed Meowth balloon was resting in the forest, not too far from Route 12 or Lagoon Town. All three of the former Team Rocket members were lying on the ground right outside the basket of the balloon, partly because they were sore from the crash, partly because they were too depressed to move.

"I can't believe it…" Jessie groaned. "We had him in our grasp… we had finally beaten those twerps… it's not fair."

"Nothing ever goes right with us," Meowth added. "Even when we win, life finds a way to make us lose."

James sighed deeply. "We're never going to rejoin Team Rocket, are we? No Pikachu, no balloon, no luck at all…" He covered his eyes with his arms, as if he was trying to shut the world out. "We're just going to be losers for the rest of our lives. We might as well face it."

Jessie sat up a bit, looking over at her partner as she heard the defeat in his voice. Even though she couldn't see his eyes, she was still able to pick up on a deep sadness in his expression. She clenched her fists, standing up, feeling a surge of energy.

"No, we're not! We may have lost today, but we can't give up just yet!" She marched over to James. "So long as that Pikachu is here in Kalos, we're going to keep trying to capture it, like we always did! And when we do, things are finally going to turn around!"

James uncovered his eyes and looked up at her, surprised, as she reached her hand down toward him. "Come on, you two!" she continued. "We know they're on their way to Lagoon Town. Let's beat them there and come up with a foolproof plan!"

He lay back for a moment, surprised by her sudden vigor, before reaching out and taking her hand. "You're right, Jessie. We can't give up just yet!" He quickly stood up with her help, as Meowth got to his feet as well. "Let's get moving, quickly!" All three of them turned and ran once again in the direction of Lagoon Town, already starting to plan out their next steps.


	11. Showcase Sabotage in Lagoon Town!

Later that afternoon, Ash and his friends had arrived in Lagoon Town, and were standing in front of an exceptionally tall building in the middle of downtown.

"So this is an Ace Center, huh?" Ash wondered, craning his neck upward for a better look. The building proper was only about three stories tall, but it was topped by a tall spire that stretched upward into the sky, dwarfing many of the other buildings around it.

"We saw one of these in Laverre City," Brock added, as Iris nodded. "We were going to stay there since the Pokémon Center was full."

"Team Ace has been building these all over Kalos," Serena explained. "They're a lot like Pokémon Centers. They won't heal your Pokémon, but there are beds, food, games, some community event stuff… they're really useful."

"Does it have to be so tall?" Iris asked, her eyes following the spire all the way up. "It's kind of gaudy."

"I guess it's part of their whole 'flying, sky-high' motif?" Serena shrugged. "They don't look great, but who's going to complain about it?"

They all stepped inside as the automatic doors opened, looking around, seeing lots of people milling about in the lobby. Some of them were sitting in chairs and relaxing, some were talking, some were trading Pokémon, and some of them were playing card games together. They could hear a number of voices from further inside the building, as well. Clearly this was a popular hangout.

"Sure seems a lot like a Pokémon Center," Ash commented, looking around. "It's cool, but why are they doing this? Do they make money off of this somehow?"

"No, I don't think they do," Serena answered. "I think this is all charity work, basically. The person leading Team Ace is a billionaire, named Byron."

"Byron?" Brock spoke up curiously. "Not the Sinnoh Gym Leader?"

She shook her head in response. "No, it's a different Byron. He used to be in the Kalos Air Force, before he became rich. Then he started doing all of his Team Ace stuff after the Vein Collapse."

"The Vein Collapse?" Ash looked over at her. "What's that?"

Serena turned back to him, incredulous, eyebrows raised. "What do you…" she began, before quickly calming herself. "Right, sorry. You don't live here. Um…" She looked around the lobby for a moment before walking over to a large map of Kalos, motioning for the others to follow.

"The Vein Collapse was a huge disaster that happened in Kalos about three years ago," she began to explain, as the others walked up behind her. "This long, enormous sinkhole opened up along the Western half of the region, about five hundred feet wide, and…" She reached up and touched the map with her index finger, drawing a line that began near the Kalos Power Plant, traveled along the northern part of the region, then dipped down through the mountains to the west, stopping just short of Cyllage City. "…About this long."

Iris goggled, stunned at the path Serena had just traced. "Are you kidding?! That has to be a hundred miles long!"

"A little more than that," Serena replied, stepping back, as Ash and Brock stared in amazement. "All of the coastal cities were really hit hard, some of them just from the quaking, not even from the vein itself. It was a huge amount of damage, and the government wasn't really well equipped to handle it."

"That's incredible," Brock muttered, eyes following the line, trying to imagine how much chaos that would have inflicted. "What could have caused something like that?"

"It's still a little unclear," she answered. "Most likely, it has to do with some old and ancient mines that might have been carved out under Kalos. If you go to some parts of the vein, you can see old wooden structures like that."

"Wow… so what happened?" Ash asked. "How did they fix it?"

She sighed. "I mean… a lot of it didn't get fixed. There are still large swaths of northwest Kalos that are collapsed."

"Like Route 13…" Iris commented, remembering how they couldn't travel right from Lumiose City to Coumarine City, putting the pieces together in her mind. Serena nodded in response.

"About a week after that, Byron went on TV and made this big announcement that he was forming Team Ace. They were going to do things like crime fighting, supporting travelers, funding Pokémon Centers and other things like that. That let the government focus on fixing what they could from the Collapse, like the rivers and the Power Plant. Team Ace has done lots of things for us since then."

"Well, it's good for us that they do," Ash commented, as they turned and moved toward the stairs, wanting to claim some beds. "Team Rocket might have taken off with Pikachu if it weren't for them." Pikachu, on Ash's shoulder, voiced his agreement.

"I wonder why this Byron went to so much trouble?" Brock wondered aloud. "You think he's just that altruistic?"

"I doubt it's just that," Iris added. "I bet he's just trying to get more people to like him." The cynicism was clear in her voice.

"Well, it's working," Ash replied, as the four of them walked into one of the rooms full of bunk beds; they each quickly claimed a bed, with the boys on one side and the girls on the other. Iris tossed her bag on the top bunk while Serena sat on the bottom one, opening up her performance bag and looking through it anxiously, making sure everything was in place. Ash watched her do so for a moment, eyebrows raising as she pulled out a thin, white tube roughly the length of her forearm, looking it over.

"What's that?" he asked, stepping closer curiously. "It looks like a giant lipstick tube or something."

She smirked at him. "That's exactly what it is." She reached it out toward his face. "Here, let me put some on you."

"Ack!" He backed up reflexively, bumping into his bed and falling back onto it, as Serena laughed.

"No, it's not lipstick, Ash. It's something I'll be using in the performance tonight."

Iris stepped closer for a better look. "You're allowed to use props?"

"We're allowed one," Serena answered, placing the tube back into her bag. "I had this specially made, to work with me and my Pokémon. If it works, it's going to be great."

"What is it?" Brock asked, highly curious.

She grinned in response. "You'll all find out tonight, when everyone else does." She zipped the bag up, placing it over her shoulder as she stood. "Come on, let's go get some food before I head to the theater. After the day we've had already, I'm pretty hungry."

The others nodded, walking out the door, with Serena following them after adjusting her bag on her shoulder. As they walked downstairs, continuing to talk about Kalos and Team Ace, none of them paid much attention to the mysterious figures in long coats in the lobby. As Serena walked by, one of them stealthily reached out and very carefully unzipped her bag. The second one quickly reached in, pulling out the tube before zipping the bag back up. Both of them dashed away as fast as possible, blending in with the crowd.

"Hm?" Serena noticed a gentle tug on the bag, glancing down at it, then around at the rest of the lobby. Not seeing anybody, she shrugged it off, assuming it got caught on something. She turned back, following the others, as the two mysterious figures traveled back upstairs, prop in tow.

* * *

An hour and a half later, the crew had eaten their fill and traveled to the Lagoon Theater, on the opposite side of Lagoon Town. The theater was less populated than the one in Coumarine City, as their current town was much smaller; the theater was smaller as well, seating fewer people, but the showcase had the same value as any other. As they walked through the lobby and down one of the hallways leading to the dressing room, Iris looked around curiously, seeing a lot of scared-looking girls in fancy dresses, with their Pokémon around them.

"Are these girls all performers?" she wondered. "Why do some of them look so terrified?"

Serena glanced around, taking a look. "This is probably the first showcase for a lot of them. Small-town showcases have smaller crowds. Those are less scary for newbies." She noticed several of the performers looking back at her, a bit awed, causing her to flush a bit and look down. Moments later, they reached the door of one of the dressing rooms, and everyone but Serena stopped a bit short, wanting to give the girls inside some privacy.

Ash smiled wide as she stepped up to the door. "Good luck, Serena! I know you're going to do great!"

She glanced back at him, smiling wide. "Thanks, Ash!" She unzipped her bag with one hand, reaching in, already running through her preparation checklist in her mind. "I can't wait for you all to…" She stopped talking suddenly, eyes widening as she rifled through her bag a bit more frantically. "Wait…"

Everyone watched, worried, as she dropped her bag to the ground and started looking through it with both hands, growing increasingly panicked. "Where is it, where is it, it has to be here…" She started pulling out clothes, accessories, makeup, trying to empty the bag in search of her lost item. "I know it put it back in here! Why is it gone?!"

"What's wrong?" Iris stepped forward, looking over the contents of the bag that were now all over the floor. She quickly realized what item should have been there, but wasn't. "Oh my gosh, that prop…"

"It's not here!" Serena started to panic, one hand running through her hair and holding her head. "I was so certain I brought it! Did I leave it back at the Ace Center?!"

"When do you go on?" Ash asked, stepping forward as well. "When do you need it?"

"I need it…" She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself and think through the schedule. "I would be performing last in the freestyle round again, and with the Theme Performance… probably 45 to 50 minutes from now?"

"Got it!" Ash started quickly walking backward, toward the entrance to the theater. "I'll be back with it by then, I promise!" He turned around and started running off, Pikachu in tow.

"Please hurry, Ash!" Serena called out after him, as everyone watched him run off. As he disappeared out the doors, she exhaled and started packing her bag again, with the assistance of Brock and Iris, before disappearing back into the dressing room, needing to get ready for the Theme Performance.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Ash raced back into the room of the Ace Center where all of them were staying, a little out of breath. He quickly dashed toward Serena's bed, pulling the blankets back when he didn't see it right away. As he searched all around the bunk, he failed to notice the door closing behind him, firmly locking in place from the outside, as two people in long coats and hats emerged from the corners of the room. They stood in front of the door, waiting to be noticed, as Ash peeked under the bed, groaning in frustration.

"I don't see it anywhere… where could it be?" He stood up, turning toward the door. "I hope it didn't fall out while…" He immediately froze in place, heart stopping when he saw the door blocked by two strangers, not having noticed their presence at all.

"Who… who are you?" He took a step back, as Pikachu dropped to all fours, trying his best to look menacing. His eyes widened as one of them reached inside their coat, pulling out a familiar white tube.

"Looking for something?" the shadowy figure spoke, in a familiar female voice. Ash's eyes widened, recognizing the voice, as both of them grabbed their coats and hats and whipped them off, revealing the dirty and tattered uniforms they had on underneath.

"No way!" Ash gritted his teeth. "Not you two again!"

"You can't get rid of us that easily!" Jessie smirked, folding her arms, still holding onto the prop. "Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!" James added.

"To protect the world from mmphmph!" Jessie's speech was quickly interrupted, as Ash grabbed the blanket off of the floor and flung it at her face, muffling her as it wrapped around her head.

"I don't have time for this!" He reached down and threw out a Poké Ball, with Snivy appearing in the room seconds later, as James tried to get Jessie free of the blanket. "Snivy! Trip them up and get that prop!"

Snivy nodded, reaching out with her vines, snagging one foot from each of the two villains in front of them; she yanked hard, toppling them both to the ground. As they tried to get up, she used one of her vines to snag the tube, pulling it back as Ash worked to open up the window behind him. Seconds later, both Jessie and James sat up, Jessie finally getting the blanket off of her head.

"You little brat!" she exclaimed as her face emerged, furious. "We finally remember our speech, and you interrupt it! How rude can you get?!"

"Ask me if I care!" Ash managed to get the window open, looking back at his Pokémon. "Pikachu, Snivy, let's go!"

Both of his Pokémon nodded and moved back toward him, Pikachu leaping into his arms. Both Jessie and James watched with wide eyes as he put one foot on the windowsill, taking the tube from Snivy before leaping out. His Pokémon quickly followed him.

"What?!" They both ran over to the windowsill, watching as Ash and Pikachu started to fall down to the ground; they was dropping down two stories toward solid concrete, which was not going to be a fun experience. As Ash fell, he looked up as he felt one of Snivy's vines wrapping around his hand, and he grasped it tightly. Snivy looked back upward, sending out her other vine to grab at the windowsill. Ash started swinging down toward the ground instead of falling, his feet touching the concrete safely instead of slamming into it. Snivy sighed in relief, letting go of the windowsill as Ash ran forward, catching her in his arms.

"Better luck next time, guys!" he called out, returning Snivy to her Poké Ball before turning and running back toward the Lagoon Theater. Jessie growled, pounding the windowsill with her fist.

"That little… I can't believe he escaped like that!"

"Honestly, that was kind of impressive," James spoke, a bit of wonder in his voice as he watched Ash run off. "He's pretty fearless, you have to give him that."

"We can praise him later!" she retorted, turning and running to the door, pounding on it. "We have to get after him!" Meowth quickly unlocked the door from the other side, and all three of them raced downstairs in pursuit.

* * *

Back at the theater, Brock and Iris were sitting in the audience, watching the first of the three finalists dancing through her Freestyle Performance, accompanied by the bird-like Swellow and the flower Pokémon Roselia. They were trying their best to focus on the stage, but in the back of their minds, they were both worried about Serena's upcoming performance. She had sailed through the Theme Performance, but her fate in the final round still remained in doubt.

"Do you think he made it back?" Iris whispered.

"I doubt he's back yet," Brock responded quietly. "He's going to be cutting it pretty close, considering how far away we were." He frowned a bit. "Serena might have to perform without this prop, if she's unlucky. Maybe she can win anyway?"

"I'm not sure about that," she replied, watching as the ten-year-old brunette on stage danced her way into a one-handed handstand. "This Madison girl on stage right now, she's been really…"

Before she could finish her sentence, the performer lost her balance, falling forward and landing flat on her back. Nearly the entire audience gasped as one, as both Iris and Brock winced.

"Alright, never mind," Iris continued. "Still, it's better if Serena doesn't have to take chances."

Brock nodded, and they both watched as the extremely embarrassed performer got back to her feet, continuing her dance, much more chastened than before. They both hoped that when Serena took the stage, she'd have everything she needed.

* * *

Running as quickly as he could with Pikachu in his arms, Ash grinned wide as he saw the Lagoon Theater come into view. He quickly checked the time on his phone, seeing that he was going to cut it extremely close. He was already breathing heavily, tapping into the last of his stamina reserves, not about to let Serena down when she needed him.

Holding onto Pikachu tightly, he yelped and screeched to a stop as a ball of light fell from the sky and landed in front of him, exploding in a small burst of energy. Looking upward, he saw a large, dragonfly-esque Yanmega flying overhead, recovering energy for another usage of her Ancient Power attack.

"You aren't getting away that easily!" He turned around, eyes widening and fists clenching as he saw Jessie and James chasing after him on stolen bicycles, with Meowth standing on James's handlebars.

"You… why can't you two just leave me alone?!" Ash turned around and started running again, pulling Snivy back out, needing as much help as he could get. "Snivy, use Leaf Storm on those bicycles!"

Snivy leaped onto Ash's shoulder, raising her arms and summoning a flurry of leaves around her, flinging them downward toward the tires of the oncoming bicycles.

"Yanmega! Sonic Boom!" Jessie called out, pedaling faster. Her Pokémon chirped and aimed her wings downward, firing a shockwave of air directly into the path of the oncoming leaves. The leaves scattered and flew about, sent off course, failing to damage the bicycles in any way.

Ash glanced backward, gritting his teeth, holding Pikachu up in the air. "Electro Ball, Pikachu! Get that Yanmega!"

He tossed Pikachu into the air in front of him, as his Pokémon formed a ball of electricity on his tail; he flung it upward toward Yanmega before falling back down into Ash's arms. The Electro Ball attack flew upward, but the dragonfly Pokémon was able to just barely dodge, its movements extremely quick. Yanmega cried out and charged up its energy, firing another blast of Ancient Power toward Ash, nearly knocking him off his feet. He quickly regained his balance, starting to worry about his chances of evading capture, as his pursuers got closer and closer. The Pokémon flying overhead started charging up once again, longer than before, preparing to unleash the most powerful form of Ancient Power she could muster.

"What do I do, what do I do…" He looked to his left and right, seeing a number of trees lining the walkway he was running along. As he saw the immaculately-trimmed leaves and branches, he got an idea, glancing sideways at the Pokémon on his shoulder.

"Snivy! Grab some branches and trip up those bikes!"

Snivy nodded, understanding quickly, reaching her vines out to the left and right, snapping a couple of branches off of the trees surrounding them. She quickly turned around and stretched her vines out toward Jessie and James, quickly sliding the branches in between the spokes of their front wheels.

Both of them yelped in panic as their bicycles locked up, flipping them forward and launching them over the handlebars; all three of them landed in a pile on the walkway, their stolen bicycles flying forward and landing on top of them. Yanmega stopped its pursuit, turning around, panicked and worried about her trainer, Jessie; she was still holding a massive ball of white energy in her hands.

"Now, Pikachu! Thunder Bolt that Yanmega!"

Pikachu nodded and jumped onto Ash's other shoulder, charging himself up for a few moments before unleashing a powerful bolt of electricity. The bolt landed a direct hit on Yanmega, who yelped in pain for a moment before falling to the ground, sore and dazed.

"You…" Jessie growled, sitting up. "You're going to pay for…" She stopped herself as a bright light entered her vision, and she looked downward toward it, curious. James and Meowth looked toward it as well, seeing the large, bright ball of energy from Yanmega's last Ancient Power attack. They all panicked, trying to scramble away, before the ball exploded in a massive burst of energy, sending all four of them flying away, screaming.

Ash sighed in relief. "That should take care of them. Let's go, guys!" He started running as fast as he could, panting hard, but not about to stop now. He held the white tube tightly in his hands, hoping that the pursuit of Team Rocket wouldn't make him too late.

* * *

"An excellent performance from Laura!" the master of ceremonies spoke into his microphone, as the second performer concluded her dance. "Everyone, give her a big hand!"

From the side of the stage, Serena watched as the audience applauded her competition, her heart sinking as she realized she would be performing in a matter of seconds. She had discussed some small changes with her Pokémon, but they hadn't had any time to practice; something was almost guaranteed to go wrong during her performance. She could already see herself losing at the end of the show, with the showcase host handing a Princess Key to Laura instead of her.

"And now, for our final performance, the talented Serena! Let's give her a proper Lagoon Town welcome!"

From the audience, Iris and Brock watched as she nervously walked on stage, already looking defeated. They scanned her hands, quickly realizing that the prop she needed was not there. Ash hadn't made it in time.

Serena took a deep breath, closing her eyes, waiting for her music to start as the applause wound down. Her meager concentration was interrupted by the sound of doors bursting open, causing her to jump a bit. Everyone in the room turned around and looked backwards, seeing an exhausted Ash running down the center aisle, holding the white tube in his hand. She gasped, her eyes lighting up and her heart leaping.

"Here!" he called out weakly as he reached the front of the room, tossing the tube on stage just as the performance music began. Serena stepped forward and caught it in her hand, swinging her arm backward in one elegant motion, causing most of the white container to fly off and clatter backstage, revealing a long, crimson ribbon that quickly unrolled itself.

Ash breathed a sigh of relief, collapsing into a sitting position in the aisle, gasping for air after his marathon sprint. He watched as Serena started dancing with her ribbon, spinning about, and he wondered what it was that made this particular prop so special. His question was answered thirty seconds into the performance: as she spun the ribbon around above her head, her Delphox stepped forward and touched her flaming stick to the ribbon, causing the entire thing to ignite.

The audience gasped in shock and amazement as the dancing began in earnest, with Serena dragging the flaming ribbon behind her, spinning it about. The ribbon left traces of flame in the air behind it, which lingered in place for just a few moments; she used this to create flaming rings in the air, which her Pancham eagerly leaped and flipped through, clearing every single one with ease.

Once again, Ash was unable to look away from Serena as she danced, jumped, spun and cartwheeled around the stage. Several times, he practically stopped breathing as she came uncomfortably close to the flame trailing about her, but she never once got burned. He tried to think about how many times she must have practiced this, to be able to execute it so expertly, because she looked as if she had done it thousands of times.

As the music started winding down, she began spinning in place in the middle of the stage, the ribbon creating flaming rings around her. As Pancham and Sylveon continued performing in front of her, Delphox reached out and took the handle of the ribbon out of Serena's outstretched hand. She grinned and moved her hand slightly, running it along the ribbon and collecting the flames in her ungloved palm, causing the audience to gasp once again.

Ash watched with wide eyes as she completely stripped the ribbon of its flame, before she tossed it into the air above her. Her Sylveon used one last Fairy Wind to send the flame outward, flying above the heads of the audience, where it slowly disappeared into embers. Serena grinned wide as she finished her performance in center stage, one foot in front of the other, arms stretched out above her head in a Y shape. Ash, along with half the audience, carefully inspected her hands, but found no signs that she had been burnt at all, despite holding fire in one of them just seconds ago.

The audience broke into loud applause, not nearly as loud as the one in Coumarine City due to the smaller size, but they were appreciative all the same. Serena was still grinning from ear to ear as she stepped back, while Madison, Laura and the master of ceremonies all came back on stage for the audience vote.

"You've seen all three performers, and now it's time to cast your vote! Remember that a green vote is for Madison, a pink vote is for Laura, and a yellow vote is for Serena! Raise your Glow Casters and vote… now!"

Ash reflexively reached for his Glow Caster, before realizing that he'd never received one, after running off back to the Ace Center. He crossed his fingers, watching nervously as the votes started coming in from the rest of the audience; the results were nowhere near as clear-cut as they were in Coumarine City, and it was quickly shaping up into a tight, two-person race between Laura and Serena.

When the lights finally faded, Ash breathed a sigh of relief at the results, as the crowd cheered. Serena had managed to just barely edge out Laura, by a margin that couldn't have been more than five votes, out of an audience of hundreds; the other performer, Madison, had taken a distant third after her fall. As the host formally announced Serena's victory, her eyes met Ash's, and he gave her a thumbs-up before collapsing onto his back, still breathing hard. He was just barely able to hear her delighted laughter over the sound of the applause.

* * *

Five minutes later, Ash had recovered somewhat, and was making his way through the back hallways of the Lagoon Theater, trying to remember where the doors to the stage were. After a minute of searching, he managed to find Serena outside the stage door, talking to the last of a small crowd of youngsters who had gathered for her, much smaller than the one in Coumarine City. As soon as he saw her stand up straight, he called out her name.

"Hey, Serena!" She quickly turned toward him, eyes lighting up.

"Ash!" she exclaimed happily, as they both started walking toward each other.

"You did an amazing job!" he continued as they slowly came within a few feet of each other. "That fire ribbon was really-"

As he was still talking, Serena reached out and grasped his hand, pulling him closer to her. He abruptly stopped talking as she leaned in and kissed his cheek appreciatively, her lips lingering for a second before she stepped away, his hand still clasped in hers.

"Thank you so much for doing that, Ash," she spoke gently, watching as his face flushed red. "You really came through for me."

"S… sure, of course…" he stammered back, clearly taken by surprise and unprepared for what had just happened. She grinned wide, amused, liking the idea that she had some sort of power over him. She could practically see the steam coming out of his ears.

"I just need to get changed and cleaned up quickly," she continued. "I'll meet you guys back in the lobby, alright?"

He nodded. "Yeah… see you there."

She let go of his hand and stepped back, grinning as she turned away, deciding not to tell Ash that she had left a lipstick mark on his cheek. She'd leave that for Iris and Brock to find.

Serena quickly made her way back to the dressing room, placing her hand on the doorknob, but she hesitated for a moment before opening the door. She could hear the distinct sound of someone crying on the other side, not openly bawling, but clearly too upset to restrain herself. She slowly and quietly opened the door, peeking in, seeing a familiar girl with long, curly brown hair. Madison had changed back into her normal clothes, tears rolling down her cheeks as she threw her things into her performance bag, utterly humiliated.

Serena's eyes widened, as she quickly debated whether to enter or to give this sobbing girl a moment alone. As she thought it over, she recalled her mother talking to her in their home, reminding Serena about her ability to make people smile, and how special it made her. She set her face and opened the door all the way, stepping inside.

"Madison?" she asked quietly, startling the young girl. "Are you alright?"

Madison quickly whirled around, eyes widening as she saw who was there. "Serena! I… I was just…" A wave of conflicting emotions ran through her, as she found herself face-to-face with one of her idols, but in one of the worst possible circumstances. She wasn't sure what to say in response; she wanted to make an excuse, but it was painfully obvious what she had been doing. She felt her face heating up, as embarrassment washed over her.

"I remember you," Serena continued, her voice gentle, as she closed the door behind her. "You came to see me after the Coumarine City Showcase, right? I didn't know you were a performer, too."

Madison looked down, wiping her eyes. "I'm not a performer. Not anymore."

"You're not? What do you mean?"

She turned back to her bag, putting her makeup kit inside, fresh tears falling. "This is the worst night of my life. I've never felt more embarrassed before. I don't ever want to do this again." She zipped up the bag as angrily as she could manage. "Everyone told me I couldn't do this, and they were right. I can't. I'm going back home."

Serena bit her lip, her heart immediately aching for this poor girl. As she looked down at Madison, she could see herself as a nervous and embarrassed new performer, upset and humiliated over her own loss. She quickly pushed the memories away.

"I know what you mean, Madison." She took a seat in a nearby chair. "My first performance went really badly, too. I didn't even make it to the second round."

Madison blinked, turning back toward Serena, not having known about this. "You didn't…? Really?"

Serena nodded. "The first round was Pokémon Styling, and I made my Fennekin's ribbons too long. She tripped on it and fell, and that was that." She rested her hands in her lap, sitting back. "I was so upset, I cried and cried… but after that, I picked myself up, and I tried again. I haven't really looked back since."

"Wow…" Madison seemed almost shaken by this information. "I didn't know you screwed up in your first performance, too. I don't think I've ever seen you screw up."

Serena grinned back. "That's because I've already screwed up a thousand times before, so you don't have to see it. It's never fun, but every time it happens, it stings a little less. And when everything goes well and everyone's smiling because of you, it's the best feeling in the world."

Madison leaned back against the counter, contemplating this, feeling a bit like her world had been turned upside-down. Serena let the silence hang in the air for a moment before continuing.

"Why did you decide to give performing a try, Madison?"

"Well…" The younger girl looked upward, thinking. "I always liked dancing, and playing with my Pokémon… I used to dance for my family when I was younger, putting on these pretend shows, and…" She turned a bit pink, embarrassed, as she realized what she was admitting to. "Well… it just felt really good to perform for them… they way they smiled and clapped…"

Serena smiled wide. "I know just how you feel." She leaned forward a bit. "You and I are a lot alike, I think."

Madison's eyes widened, taking this as an enormous compliment. "You… you think so?"

"Mhmm. We both enjoy performing for its own sake, and we like to make others happy. Those are great qualities for a performer to have… especially ones who are trying to become Kalos Queen one day."

"Kalos Queen?" Madison looked down, holding her face in her hands. "No way, I could never…"

"Don't sell yourself short," Serena offered. "You never know how things are going to go." She stood up. "If you really don't enjoy doing these showcases, then you don't have to keep doing them. You should find something you like. But I think you should give it at least one more try. You're far too talented to give up so soon."

Madison's eyes were wide as saucers as she looked back up. "You mean it…?"

"Of course I do!" Serena smiled warmly down at her. "You're much better than I was when I was your age."

Madison flushed a deep red once again, almost overwhelmed by the sheer power of such a compliment. After a few moments, she nodded resolutely. "Alright… I'll try one more time, I promise."

Serena grinned wide, glad that she was able to lift this girl's spirits. "Glad to hear it, Madison. Maybe we'll see each other again soon."

"I hope so!" Madison grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder, making her way to the door, a bit of a spring in her step. As she grasped the doorknob, she paused and turned around. "Serena? Can I ask you one more thing?"

Serena nodded. "Of course. What is it?"

"Well… your performance tonight… how on Earth did you hold fire in your hand like that?!"

She laughed, not expecting that question. "It's a cold-burning flame, from a special residue on the ribbon. It's hot, but not hot enough to burn skin."

"Huh…" She looked as if her mind had been blown for a second time, thinking about the applications of this.

Serena smirked, able to tell what she was thinking. "Don't play with fire, Madison. Not unless you really know what you're doing."

The young girl grinned back, her mood greatly improved. "I won't, promise." She opened the door. "Thanks, Serena! Congratulations on your win!"

Serena nodded, smiling wide as the young girl stepped out, closing the door behind her. She felt her chest swell with pride, glad that she was able to help someone who needed it, before she quickly got to changing.

Several minutes later, Serena appeared in the lobby with her performance bag slung over her shoulder, looking around for her companions and quickly finding them. She could see Brock and Iris with teasing smirks on their faces, looking toward a rather red-faced Ash, who had a smudged and half-removed lipstick mark on his cheek. She giggled and covered her mouth as she approached, ready to leave with them and get some rest.


	12. The Strength of a Dragon!

Later that night, all four travelers had returned to the Ace Center, where they had changed rooms out of an abundance of caution. All of them were in their sleep clothes, but there was no sleeping going on yet. Iris was lying in her bed, Axew curled up happily by her side, as she answered messages on her phone. Ash and Brock were standing around Serena, watching as she showed them the magic behind the fire ribbon she had used in her performance.

"This is the oil that the ribbon is doused in," she explained, pulling a container of liquid out of her bag. "It ignites at a relatively low temperature, so the flame isn't as dangerous as it looks. You can even touch it."

Ash and Brock watched with rapt attention, with Iris glancing over from her bunk, as Serena opened the bottle and poured a small amount of oil into her palm. Handing off the bottle to Brock, she pulled a lighter out of her bag; she flicked it on with her thumb and very carefully brought the flame to her palm. As soon as the lighter's flame touched it, the oil in her palm ignited, burning with a dim but lively flame.

"Whoa!" Brock exclaimed, leaning in closer. "I've never seen anything like that before!"

"That's amazing!" Ash added, watching the flame dance in her palm, without any sort of reaction from her. "That isn't hot at all?"

"Oh no, it's very hot," she replied. "It's pretty uncomfortable, actually. But it takes a long time to burn your skin, so it works well for performances." She reached down and grabbed a damp hand towel she had nearby, wiping off her palm, dousing the flame and removing the oil. "Do either of you want to try it? It's safe, I promise."

"Sure!" Ash held out his hand eagerly. "I doubt I'll get another chance to hold fire like that." Serena grinned wide, taking the bottle back from Brock and pouring some oil into Ash's hand, as everyone watched curiously, including Pikachu.

"Alright, hold still so the lighter doesn't burn you," she commanded, grabbing the lighter and flicking it on. She brought the flame to the oil, everyone watching carefully as it caught. As soon as the oil burst into flame, Ash began screaming in pain.

"Yahh! It burns!" He grabbed his wrist close to his hand, starting to run around the room as the fire danced around in his palm. "Put it out! Put it out!"

Serena shrieked, immediately dropping the lighter and running over to him to douse the flame, before realizing she didn't have her hand towel with her. She quickly turned around, nearly falling as she raced over and picked up the damp cloth, panicking. As she turned back to face Ash, it took her a second to realize that he was no longer screaming in pain; he was laughing instead, nearly doubled over, his free hand resting on his knee.

"Oh man, you should have seen your face!" he managed, cackling.

Serena exhaled, equal parts relieved and annoyed, walking over to him more calmly. She could hear Brock sighing in relief, while Iris laughed along with Ash from her bunk.

"Honestly, Ash." She grabbed his wrist, running the towel over his hand, removing the oil and the flame together.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," he replied, grinning.

"Yes, you could." She flicked her wrist upward, tossing the towel into his face in retaliation, before turning and walking back to her bunk, starting to put her things away as she sat down. Ash walked over as well, folding up the towel and handing it to her, before turning and looking up toward Iris, who was lying back and looking at her phone once again.

"What are you doing up there, Iris?" he asked. "You've been looking at your phone for ten minutes now."

"I'm answering questions from the students I have running the gym," she answered, not looking in his direction. "They're in a little bit over their heads, sounds like."

"They?" Brock wondered, leaning against the wall near the window. "How many are running the gym?"

"Three of them. Each of them has one really strong Pokémon, so they're all fighting together against challengers."

Ash grinned. "So it takes three Academy students to make one of you, huh?"

Iris smirked. "Darn right, it does."

Serena zipped up her performance bag, leaning forward and glancing upward toward Iris's bunk. "How do the students like having you as the new Gym Leader?"

"They don't," Iris replied flatly. "A lot of them are bitter that the gym is being run by an Academy dropout. They're not subtle about it, either."

"What?! That's terrible!" Serena exclaimed, upset on Iris's behalf. "What sort of things do they say to you?"

"Eh, they say a lot of snotty things. They're brats." Iris shrugged, not sounding bothered. "It doesn't matter. I let my Pokémon do the talking for me, and none of them can come close to beating me." She hit the send button on the message she was currently writing. "Sometimes they complain to Drayden about it. He usually sets them straight."

"Drayden?" Ash cocked his head. "I thought you said he retired?"

"He retired from the gym, that's all. He's still headmaster of the Opelucid Academy. He's a workhorse. He probably won't retire fully until he's 150 years old."

"Huh." Brock stood up. "Why'd he quit the gym, them?"

Iris hesitated for a moment, the pause both noticeable and awkward. "I'm not sure," she responded after a few seconds. "Maybe he was just too busy." She set her phone aside, plugging it in to charge for the night.

"Well, it sounds like he's pretty firmly on your side," Serena chimed in. "That's good to hear."

"Mm." Iris nodded, tucking herself into bed, a little bit lost in thought. She felt Axew crawl onto her pillow, curling up next to her; she reached up and scratched his head for a few seconds, as the others got into bed as well.

"Goodnight, guys," Ash spoke, walking to the door and turning off the lights. "We're off for Shalour City tomorrow." He walked back to his bunk and climbed in, as Iris closed her eyes. Her mind drifted back to Drayden and the Opelucid City Gym, recalling the day she became Gym Leader, as she slowly drifted off.

* * *

As Opelucid City was bathed in the orange light of the setting sun, a thirteen-year-old Iris stood in front of the entrance to the city's gym. The building had the look of an ancient pyramid, guarded by two large, stone dragons; she was intimately familiar with it, having been inside it many times before. She hadn't been to this gym in three years, but she was fairly certain nothing had changed.

She took a deep breath, exhaling it slowly, needing all of her strength to not turn and walk away. Part of her was regretting her decision to leave Axew with a friend for the day, as his presence would have comforted her, but on another level, she knew she had to face this alone. She had been avoiding this visit without realizing it for a long time, but now there was no more time left. It was now or never.

She forced herself forward through the gym's front doors, walking through a darkened hallway until the arena came into view. The battlefield inside the gym had yet more dragon statues inside, lit by a number of lanterns on the walls, having the appearance of a space where an old pharaoh might hold court. At the other end of the room, she could see the man playing the role of pharaoh, walking away, getting ready to close up the gym for the night. He paused as she walked closer, hearing her footsteps, and she heard herself speaking up.

"Drayden."

He turned around, his eyes finding her as she emerged from the shadows of the hallway, and they studied each other for a brief moment. The man was clearly older, but he didn't look any less imposing than he had when the two had last met. She hoped that she looked a little more imposing, but from his expression, it didn't seem like it.

He folded his arms. "Good to see you again, Iris."

"You're looking well." She stepped further into the room. "When I heard you were retiring as a Gym Leader, I thought I'd find you sickly and weak or something." Despite cracking a joke, she had no smile on her face.

He stepped closer to her as well. "I thought I would be seeing you earlier than this."

"It took me some time to get back to Unova," she responded, stopping at the edge of the battlefield. "I would have gotten here sooner if you had told me yourself. Instead I had to hear it through the Academy grapevine." Her face was set, trying to look neutral, but it was still clear from her voice that she was feeling hurt.

"I told you three years ago that I was considering you as my successor," Drayden answered, unfazed. "You told me you would think about it, and then I never heard from you again, until now." He stopped walking, standing at the other edge of the battlefield. "Why did it take my retirement to bring you back here?"

"That's…" She hesitated. She had ages to prepare for this question, but she still didn't know how to answer. "I don't know."

He was unimpressed. "I think you do know," he replied, his words sharp. "I think it's the same reason you came at the end of the day, when no spectators are here to see you."

Iris could feel her face grow hot from shame, feeling as if Drayden was staring right through her with his oppressive gaze. She had never been comfortable with how easily her old headmaster could read her, but in this moment the discomfort was almost physically painful. She didn't have to say how terrified she was of disappointing him. He had known since long before she walked through the door.

During the few moments they had spoken, they had automatically taken their positions on opposite ends of the battlefield. Both of them knew exactly what was going to happen. This moment had been inevitable for years.

"Iris," Drayden called out, his voice quiet but forceful at the same time. "Tell me why you have come back. Tell me why you are here right now."

She kept her eyes locked on his. She couldn't show any weakness now.

"I'm here to become the leader of this gym."

"Very well." Drayden reached down, grasping a Poké Ball from his hip. "Then show me that you have the strength to take it from me!"

He hurled the ball onto the battlefield, unleashing the energy inside, which took the shape of a five-foot-tall dragon Pokémon. The energy soon solidified, forming a blue dragon covered in red spikes, with sharp, pointed wings and a red head with a powerful jaw.

Iris recognized the Druddigon immediately, having battled against him in the past. She reached to her belt as well, forcefully throwing a Poké Ball of her own into the arena, bringing out a black, mole-like Pokémon with metal claws on its hands, and one on its head. Excadrill's eyes immediately focused on the foe in front of him, energy coursing through his veins.

"Druddigon! Attack with Dragon Claw!" Drayden called out. His Pokémon roared and dashed forward, claws gleaming, ready to swipe. Iris watched the Pokémon approach, biding her time, not issuing a command until Druddigon was nearly in attack range.

"Excadrill, counter with Metal Claw!" Her Pokémon took a step forward, swinging its large, metallic claws to intercept Druddigon's claw. They clashed, then clashed again, and again, as both Pokémon kept swinging at each other. Druddigon tried over and over to get a shot in at his opponent's body, while Excadrill was only concerned with stopping Druddigon's claws. After a minute of this, Drayden's Pokémon was sore and in pain, unable to continue with the injuries that had formed on its claws, while Excadrill was fresh as a daisy.

"Now!" Drayden called out. "Dragon Rage!"

"Avoid it with Dig, Excadrill!" Iris responded immediately, almost on instinct. As Druddigon opened his mouth, unleashing a torrent of blue and black energy, Excadrill quickly closed itself up into its drill formation, diving backward into the ground, taking a bit of the Dragon Rage attack directly to his body.

Druddigon looked around warily, waiting for Excadrill to reemerge, which he did almost immediately, coming up directly underneath his foe. Druddigon was launched into the air as Excadrill's drill-like nose came up right into his torso, doing a fair amount of damage. The dragon Pokémon whirled around as soon as he regained his composure, swinging his glowing blue tail directly into Excadrill's face. Iris's Pokémon was caught unaware, taking the full brunt of the attack, which knocked him across the arena.

Iris resisted the urge to call out to Excadrill, her breath catching as he slid across the ground, kicking up dust. She finally breathed again as he got to his feet, sore but still full of energy. He looked back toward Druddigon to see the Pokémon charging at him at a high speed, with his Giga Impact attack.

"Catch him and stop him, Excadrill!" she called out. "Show them who the stronger Pokémon is!"

Her Pokémon nodded, steeling himself and digging his heels in. He reached his claws out as his opponent got close, grabbing Druddigon's shoulders, and the force of the charge caused them both to slide across the arena. Excadrill's muscles trembled under the pressure of holding his foe back, but he refused to relent, and after a few seconds they both slowed to a stop, to Drayden's surprise.

With a mighty cry, Excadrill raised the dragon Pokémon above his head, before swinging him heavily down into the ground. Keeping his grip, Excadrill lifted Druddigon again and tossed him across the arena, where he rolled painfully to a stop.

Iris's fists clenched, adrenaline pumping through her. "Finish it off with Drill Run!"

As Druddigon got back to his feet, he looked toward his opponent, just in time to see Excadrill zooming toward him, his entire body spinning like a giant drill. The metal point of Excadrill's head struck Druddigon right in the chest, knocking the air out of him and sending him backward once again. This time, when he finally skidded to a stop on the ground, he didn't get back up.

Drayden looked toward Iris, who was glaring defiantly back at him, standing up as straight as she could, her heart pounding and her hands trembling lightly. She hoped that if she projected enough strength and fearlessness, she would start to feel those things herself.

"A good start, but this battle is only just beginning," he spoke, his voice as calm as it ever was. He summoned Druddigon back to his Poké Ball, reaching for another and throwing it into the ring. "Your opponent's weakened, Flygon!"

Iris watched as the Poké Ball landed and ejected what looked like an enormous green dragonfly, with rounded features and a long striped tail. His diamond wings beat quickly and repeatedly, keeping him afloat. Iris quickly weighed the pros and cons of switching out her Pokémon, before deciding to keep Excadrill in. She knew Flygon was a Ground/Dragon-type Pokémon, and even though it could fly, the meat of the battle was going to be happening close to the ground. She would use Excadrill to press her advantage as much as she could.

"Excadrill, Focus Blast!" she called out. Her Pokémon responded quickly, holding his claws out, forming a blue ball of energy between them. Once it was large enough, he grabbed it and flung it across the arena at Flygon; the flying Pokémon quickly dodged out of the way, its movements lightning quick.

"Keep at it!" Iris continued; she knew that the Focus Blasts would keep Flygon from launching any long-distance attacks, forcing it to come in close. Excadrill continued to fling energy blasts toward his foe, and after several near misses, Flygon started coming in closer, charging.

Iris suppressed a grin, seeing the battle go according to plan, filling her with energy. She watched as Flygon grew closer and closer, coming into attack range, before calling out again. "Fury Swipes! Swat that bug out of the air!" Excadrill reared one arm back, ready to start swiping away, when Drayden forcefully issued his own command.

"Flygon! Supersonic!"

The flying Pokémon stopped charging in an instant, letting out a powerful and disorienting screech directly into Excadrill's face. Iris's Pokémon was pained and startled by the sudden sound, swinging wildly into the air reflexively, but hitting nothing. Flygon responded by flying up over Excadrill, getting behind him as his tail started to glow blue; it quickly spun around, swinging the large tail into the back of his foe's head.

Iris watched as Excadrill got knocked away for the second time in this battle, worried, not sure how much more punishment her Pokémon could take. Her eyes snapped back to Flygon, watching as his whole body was surrounded with a blue aura, one she recognized as Dragon Rush.

"Excadrill, use Mud Slap, quick!" She could hear the panic in her own voice as she said it, and she knew Drayden could hear it, too.

Her Pokémon was dazed but obedient, turning and slamming its claw into the ground, digging up dirt and flinging it in Flygon's direction. Drayden's Pokémon was far too agile to be hit, however, and avoiding every bit of dirt and mud, he struck Excadrill directly under his jaw with the force of a truck. Iris could only watch helplessly as her Pokémon was knocked onto his back, hopelessly dazed and unable to continue.

She felt her heart sink, angry at herself for her decision. She'd made absolutely no progress on Flygon, and was now down one Pokémon; her brief advantage had been totally squandered, and she was on even ground with Drayden once again. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, needing to keep her cool if she was going to win this match.

"Return, Excadrill," she spoke as she brought her Pokémon back to its ball, trying to keep her voice emotionless. She had gained an advantage once already in this battle, and she could do it again. This time, it would be in the air.

"Altaria, let's go!" she called out, throwing another Poké Ball into the ring. The Pokémon that emerged was a large blue bird, with its body surrounded by what looked like a giant ball of white cotton. Altaria and Flygon locked eyes, ready for the battle to resume; Iris quickly spoke up, ready to make the first move once again.

"Use Mist! Cover the ground!"

Altaria cawed, opening her mouth and issuing a cloud of icy mist, one that quickly spread and covered the battlefield, up to a height of about seven feet. Both Pokémon disappeared in the cloud, but both trainers could hear them flying around, each trying to find the other. Iris was confident, knowing that Flygon would have more trouble flying through ice than Altaria would.

Fifteen seconds later, they heard a loud squabbling from close to Iris's side of the battlefield. They watched as Altaria flew upward out of the mist, Flygon's body gripped tightly in her claws. She pecked at her opponent's body repeatedly, as Flygon desperately tried to escape.

"Flygon, use Supersonic again!" Drayden called out.

"Throw him away, Altaria!" Iris responded, not about to see Excadrill's fate befall this Pokémon as well. Altaria spun around quickly, making it difficult for Flygon to aim his Supersonic, and flung the Pokémon back down toward the ground. Flygon managed to right itself before crashing, flying back upward toward the ceiling, where Altaria was waiting.

Iris exhaled, feeling good about the battle so far. Not only had she managed to do some damage, but the Mist attack had forced Flygon up into the air, where it had fewer attack options. Now she had to prevent herself from becoming overconfident.

Drayden was unflappable, as he always was. "You're the stronger Pokémon, Flygon! Use Dragon Breath!"

Flygon reared back its head before extending it, a mass of blue and black energy shooting out of its mouth. Altaria flew lower to avoid it, closer to the mist.

"Dragon Dance, Altaria!" Iris commanded. Her Pokémon cried out and began to fly in circles, as a blue aura enveloped her, increasing her strength. Once Altaria had powered up, Iris looked upward, her eyes widening as she saw Flygon finishing a Dragon Dance of its own. Both Pokémon would be battling at the peak of their strength.

Altaria flew back upward, directly at Flygon, and the two started to clash repeatedly, with amazing force. Altaria delivered blow after blow with Steel Wing and Sky Attack, while Flygon responded with Fly and Dragon Tail. Each successful attack wore the combatants down more and more, but neither of them slowed their attacks, wanting to give their all for their trainers.

After one such clash, Flygon cried out in pain, hanging in the air for a moment, needing to recover. Altaria turned around and looked back at her opponent from a distance, breathing heavily. Iris's eyes lit up, seeing her opportunity.

"Now's our chance!" she called out, letting herself get excited. "Finish it with Moonblast!"

Her Pokémon cawed, opening her mouth and charging a ball of pink energy. Just as it was ready to be launched, Drayden's voice rang out.

"Flygon, Sandstorm!"

Flygon began flapping his wings even harder, turning toward Altaria as quickly as it could, forming a small tornado of sand and flinging it at its opponent. Altaria, still preparing the Moonblast, didn't have time to look away, taking the Sandstorm attack head-on. She cried out in pain, launching the Moonblast in Flygon's general direction; it flew right past, bursting against the wall of the arena.

"No!" Iris cried out. "Altaria, get moving! Don't stay still!" Her Pokémon began flying around in small but quick circles, still unable to see properly, but needing to not get caught. Flygon, however, had no trouble tracking his foe, zooming down and slamming heavily into Altaria's body. Iris gasped as both Pokémon zoomed downward, disappearing into the icy mist, hearing the impact as Flygon launched his opponent into the ground with a powerful Earth Power attack.

The crash was powerful enough to blow away the mist that covered the ground, the cold air blowing past both Iris and Drayden as it was dispelled. Flygon flew back upward, catching his breath, as Altaria came back into view. She had hit the ground so hard that she was partially buried in the dirt, the ground cracked around her. There was no recovering from such a brutal assault.

Iris could do nothing but stare at her defeated Altaria, her heart dropping and her body feeling cold. She had quickly gone from being ahead to falling behind, and she felt as if she was buried in a hole just like her Pokémon. The thought of her losing, of being a disappointment to Drayden once again, was starting to overwhelm her, taking over her mind. She could feel the world closing in around her, as she tried to catch her breath.

"You're hesitating," Drayden called out. "You're acting as if you've already lost. Are you going to let fear overtake you, Iris?" She tore her eyes away from Altaria, looking back at him, feeling as if she was shrinking under his piercing gaze.

"If you surrender now, there will be no second chances," he warned sternly. "This is your one and only opportunity. I can't announce another retirement, to pull you out of the woodwork a second time."

Iris blinked, his words sinking in, eyes widening and breath catching as the full meaning of what he just said hit her. "You… you did that, just to…"

"What will you do, Iris?" he bellowed, his voice stronger and more powerful than she could remember. "Will you turn tail and run? Or will you show me the strength of a dragon?!"

She kept her eyes fixed on his, her heart pounding and her mind racing. His words were resonating deep within her, as the emotional weight of this moment bore down on her. She eventually closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath and letting it out, grabbing Altaria's Poké Ball.

"Altaria, return," she spoke quietly, bringing her Pokémon back; her voice was shaking, but she was forcing herself to be calm, as best she could. There was only one road forward, and she was going to push herself down it, fighting for every step. She reached for her final Poké Ball, throwing it onto the battlefield.

"Go, Dragonite! Let's win this!"

Out of her Poké Ball came a seven-foot, heavyset, bright orange dragon. He looked up, quickly finding his foe flying overhead, looking sore and tired. Dragonite glared at it, seeing weakness in Flygon's expression and sensing his trainer's will to succeed.

"Use your speed, Flygon!" Drayden called out. "Do some damage with Dragon Rush!" His Pokémon clearly didn't have many impacts left in him; Drayden was hoping to do what damage he could before Flygon's defeat. Iris set her gaze, not interested in giving her opponent an inch.

"Get in the air and avoid it!" she called out. Dragonite began flapping its wings, rising off the ground as Flygon rushed at him. He quickly dodged out of the way, to Drayden's surprise, being much more agile than his size would suggest.

"Slow him down with Ice Beam!" Iris followed up, her confidence starting to return to her. Dragonite whirled around to face his opponent, opening his mouth and firing an icy blue beam directly at Flygon. The attack connected easily, as Drayden's Pokémon was too injured to dodge, and the icy blast covered his body and wings with ice. He flapped more slowly, starting to fall to the ground.

"Now finish it! Thunder Punch!"

Flygon kept struggling to fly, barely able to move due to the ice freezing him in place. He looked back at Dragonite just in time to see him rushing in, his fist crackling with electricity as it slammed into Flygon's body from above. The Pokémon rocketed back down to the ground, landing in the same hole that Altaria had made just minutes ago. Both trainers watched as it struggled to get back up, eventually slumping back down, defeated.

Drayden and Iris's eyes met once again. Iris was no longer trying to project strength she didn't have; her determination and her fear shone through together. There was a burning fire in her soul now, a will to fight that could not be quashed. This battle was far from over.

"The dragon inside you has awakened, Iris," Drayden commented, the tiniest hint of pride in his voice as he grabbed his final Poké Ball. "Now, finish this! Come at me with all your strength!"

He threw the Poké Ball forward onto the battlefield, his final Pokémon emerging. The beast that appeared was covered almost entirely in gold armor, with metallic red blades attached to its jaw. He roared loudly as he entered the arena, staring down Iris's Pokémon. Dragonite glared back, unfazed, as he landed on the ground again; he had seen this Haxorus before, and was ready to battle with all of his might.

"Haxorus! Hyper Beam!" Drayden called out. His Pokémon opened his mouth, charging up a large ball of yellow energy.

Iris was unfazed. "Dragonite, respond with a Hyper Beam of your own!"

Dragonite nodded, beginning to charge up his own blast, his gaze locked on Haxorus. Several seconds later, both of them unleashed their Hyper Beams at the same time, the two blasts colliding and exploding in the center of the arena. Dirt, air and dust were blown all over, forcing everyone to cover their eyes. When Haxorus looked back, he saw Dragonite rushing toward him, fist reared back, ready to strike. Haxorus roared, swinging his armored fist as well; both attacks landed squarely on their opponents' bodies. From there, the battle descended into what could only be described as a bare-knuckle brawl.

Both Pokémon clashed over and over, as their trainers issued one command after another, both of them entering a state of focus they had not yet achieved. Dragonite would swing forward with a Thunder Punch into his foe's gut; Haxorus would respond with a Dragon Tail to Dragonite's side. As Dragonite spit out a Flamethrower attack, Haxorus answered with Dragon Breath. Both Pokémon were slowly being beaten down, but neither one of them seemed to lose strength; it was as if they were drawing energy from their respective trainers, who were both battling as if their lives depended on it.

As the battle continued on, Iris's voice grew louder and more forceful with each command. Her nerves were quickly fading, and she could see victory within her grasp, almost able to feel each blow that Dragonite gave and received. Drayden watched her as she commanded her Dragonite, able to see a fire in her eyes that he hadn't seen since she entered the gym. For the first time, he started to consider the possibility that he might lose.

Several minutes later, Dragonite was skidding backward after a strong body blow, coming to a rest on one hand and one knee. Haxorus was on both feet, but it looked as if it might topple over with the slightest assault. Both trainers knew this battle was about to reach its conclusion.

"Haxorus!" Drayden called out. "Put all of your strength into this final assault! Giga Impact!" His Pokémon roared and launched himself forward, with purple and yellow energy swirling around him. Iris felt her heart thudding once again, but she pushed her worry deep down inside her. There was no backing down now.

"You can beat him, Dragonite!" she called out. "Finish him with Dragon Rush!" Her Pokémon snorted, flapping his wings and lifting off the ground before shooting forward, a blue aura surrounding him as he rushed toward the oncoming Haxorus. The two Pokémon collided in the center of the arena, the force of their impact sending a shockwave through the air, blowing back Iris's hair.

When the energy cleared away, both Pokémon were lying flat on their stomachs, groaning in pain, several feet apart. Both trainers watched with bated breath, not sure if either one was able to move. After all of the energy and the emotions, the battle may have ended in a draw.

Iris gasped as she saw Dragonite stir, starting to push himself up with his arms. She was wracked with an anxious nervousness as she watched him trying to get up, not even daring to breathe. Seconds later, Haxorus started moving as well, getting one leg underneath him, trying to return to a standing position.

Both Drayden and Iris watched, silent, as their Pokémon struggled to get up, neither one wanting to disappoint their trainers. Dragonite moved one leg underneath his body, trying to push himself up, as Haxorus managed to get himself into an unsteady standing position, his legs shaking with exhaustion. Everyone's eyes moved to Dragonite as he tried to bring his other leg up, attempting to stand. After several seconds that felt like minutes, the effort proved to be too much, and he collapsed to the ground, completely spent.

Iris's breathing trembled as she watched Dragonite collapse, as if it were happening in slow motion. She could feel the strength leaving her body as well, stolen away by the gravity of her defeat, and she felt her face burning with humiliation. After giving the battle everything she had, after baring her soul, she had nothing to show for it. Worse than disappointing Drayden, she felt as if she had failed him, as if she had betrayed the trust he had placed in her.

Both trainers walked forward onto the battlefield, toward their Pokémon. Drayden quietly congratulated Haxorus on a battle well fought, before returning him to his Poké Ball. Iris walked forward on trembling legs, kneeling next to Dragonite, resting her hand on his back.

"You were incredible, Dragonite," she spoke quietly, her hand rubbing his back comfortingly. "I couldn't ask for anything more." She heard Drayden walking closer, stopping right in front of her.

"You've become a powerful trainer, Iris," he offered, in the same flat tone of voice he always used. "But you came up short, by mere inches. An unfortunate ending." Iris nodded, reaching for Dragonite's Poké Ball and quietly returning her defeated Pokémon.

"You had better get your Pokémon healed, Drayden." She stood fully and looked up at him, determination shining through the tears of shame that had formed in her eyes. "I'm going to be back here tomorrow. And the next day, and the day after that, as many times as it takes."

"Hmph." He folded his arms, looking back at her. "Don't bother. You'll be wasting your time."

"Excuse me?!" she shot back, her voice raising in anger.

"I said, you'll be wasting your time," he reiterated. "I won't be here to battle tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after that." He lowered his arms. "This isn't my gym anymore."

"It… what?" Iris's eyes widened, her anger faltering in an instant. "Drayden…"

"Iris, you've always had the instinct, and you've clearly acquired the skill," he continued. "But you've always been anxious and scared in the face of failure. I needed you to face that fear tonight, head on. I asked you to show me the strength of a dragon, and that's what you did."

She continued looking up at him, in both silence and disbelief, as he went on. "Truth be told, you were the only person I ever considered to take over this gym. Of everyone who passed through my academy, you were the one who had the skill and the determination to hold trainers to the standard this gym requires. If you had failed this last test, I'm not sure what I would have done." He extended his hand toward her, ignoring the shock plastered on her face. "I'm glad to know I'll be leaving this gym in good hands."

She reached out her hand to meet his, dumbstruck, her grip weak as they shook hands. As the weight of his words sunk in, her tears of shame were replaced by tears of gratitude, and she quickly stepped forward and threw her arms around him, taking him by surprise.

"I promise I won't let you down, Drayden," she spoke quietly, holding him tightly, her voice breaking a bit.

He exhaled, reaching down and rubbing her head gently. It was impossible to tell from the thick beard, but a rare smile was crossing his face. "I know you won't, Iris." The two of them stood together for a few moments longer, sharing a quiet moment of comfort, after one of the most trying battles of their lives.


	13. An Elite Battle in Shalour City!

Two days after Serena's showcase in Lagoon Town, Ash and his friends were walking through downtown Shalour City in the middle of the afternoon. Iris and Brock looked around curiously, while Ash and Serena had confused looks on their faces as they inspected the city, and the people in it.

"Serena, was Shalour City this… blue the last time we were here?" Ash wondered aloud, eyes moving from one building to the next, the distinct ocean-like coloring appearing on decorations in all sorts of places. "It's like the whole city was redecorated."

"I don't know," Serena responded, equally confused as she took in the city around her. "I haven't been here in years, but I sure don't remember this."

"Is it not supposed to be like this?" Iris asked, glancing down toward the beach at the edge of the city. "I figured it was just a beach destination. There's enough people in swimsuits here." Her eyes moved from one person to the next, noticing the unusually high number of them dressed to swim.

"It is a beach city, but still, this is more than I remember," Serena answered. "And there sure weren't this many swimmers around."

"Maybe it's because of the Water Festival that's happening here," Brock chimed in, pointing to a banner hanging from a nearby streetlamp. Everyone turned to look at it, reading it quickly.

"'Celebrate the beauty and grace of Water-type Pokémon at the third annual Shalour City Water Festival,'" Ash recited, cocking his head. "I hadn't heard anything about a festival. How long has this been going on?" Serena shrugged, equally at a loss, as Iris took out her phone and started looking up information.

"Let's see… it says here that the Water Festival started a couple years ago, a few months after the Shalour City Gym changed hands."

"Changed hands?" Serena's eyebrows raised, as she turned back toward Iris. "You mean Korrina's gone?"

"Wait, seriously?" Ash exclaimed, his shock quickly giving way to disappointment. "You've got to be kidding. All the training I did on Route 12 was for a battle against Korrina." He glanced toward Pikachu, sitting on his shoulder, who gave him a concerned look in return. "Is it even a Fighting-type gym still?"

Iris quickly scrolled through what she was reading. "Um… no, apparently not."

"Great…" Ash sighed, slumping forward a bit, feeling dejected. "All that time spent training, down the drain… I should have double-checked before we left. What a dumb mistake." Serena frowned, reaching out and rubbing his shoulder comfortingly, as Iris glanced back at her phone.

"I guess she went on a 'personal journey of strength', whatever that means," she continued. "A member of the Kalos Elite Four named Siebold stepped in to run the gym, and a few months later he held the first Water Festival. Ever since then, it's been a 'Water-type Pokémon paradise.'"

"So I'm guessing it's now a Water-type gym?" Brock wondered aloud. Iris nodded as she put her phone away.

"A Water-type gym?" Ash's eyes lit up with realization. "Wait, that's perfect!" He stood up fully, turning back toward his friends. "I've already got two strong Pokémon with type advantages against Water types. Getting that badge will be a walk in the park!"

"That's true, Ash," Brock responded cheerfully. "After a bit of training, you shouldn't have too much trouble."

"No way, I don't need to train for this," Ash replied, to Brock's surprise. "I was already going to have my Gym battle against Korrina today. I'll just have a battle with Siebold instead."

"Ash, are you serious?" Iris had concern written all over her face. "You're going to just waltz up and take out a member of the Elite Four without any practice?"

"I can do it!" he answered confidently. "Sure, it might not be a cakewalk, but Snivy and Pikachu are going to be more than a match for him." He glanced sideways toward Pikachu, who gave him a supportive nod, before he turned around. "Come on, guys! It's low tide, so the bridge to the gym will be exposed. Let's go!"

"Ash, hold on!" Serena reached out toward him to try and stop his charge, but he was already off and running. She sighed, lowering her arm. "Well, you can't fault his confidence."

"Oh, yes you can," Iris replied, unimpressed, starting to walk after him. "Come on, we better go make sure he doesn't embarrass himself." The three of them started following Ash to the gym, hoping that his confidence wasn't unfounded.

* * *

Several minutes later, the group had crossed the bridge separating the gym from the rest of Shalour City, and had made their way inside. Ash was standing in the challenger's position on the battlefield, Pikachu by his feet, standing in front of a large pool of water that had a number of ice floes floating on top of it. Serena, Brock and Iris made their way into the bleachers that were on either side of the battlefield.

All of them were looking toward the other side of the arena, where the new Gym Leader was standing in position. He was a tall and slender man with short blond hair and blue eyes, dressed in a rather regal-looking white outfit. He quickly sized up his opponent, looking a bit skeptical for a moment.

"Hm. Ask Ketchum, right?" the man spoke. "You're trying to get your third badge?"

Ash nodded. "That's right."

The Gym Leader smirked. "Well, let's see if you can provide me with a rich and satisfying battle." He reached down to his belt, taking a Poké Ball and holding it in his hand. "My name is Siebold, and I lead this gym with my powerful Water-type Pokémon. Beat me in a three-on-three battle, and the Torrent Badge is yours. Are you ready?"

"You bet!" Ash replied cheerfully, trying his best to exude confidence. Standing in front of Siebold now, he was starting to worry about the outcome of this battle; he tried his best to push it down, not wanting to look weak in front of everyone.

"Alright, let's see what you can do." Siebold threw his Poké Ball out onto the field, bringing out a ten-pointed, purple starfish Pokémon with a red jewel in the center, hovering in the air. "Starmie, let's get things started!"

Ash took a deep breath, reaching down for a Poké Ball of his own, tossing it onto the ice floe closest to him. "Snivy, I choose you!"

As Ash's Pokémon emerged from the ball, Siebold didn't make any attempt to hide his lack of amusement. Nearly every trainer that battled in his gym played to type advantages. Most of them left disappointed.

"Both trainers are ready!" announced the referee, standing on the side of the battlefield, flags raised. "Let the battle begin!"

Ash quickly stepped up, wanting to launch the first attack. "Alright, Snivy! Leaf Storm! Aim for its jewel!"

Snivy acted quickly, forming a number of leaves around herself and flinging them toward her foe. Starmie quickly flew away from danger, spinning like a disc, curving around toward Ash's side of the battlefield. He grinned, having wanted Starmie to come a bit closer.

"Now! Grab it with Vine Whip!"

Snivy's vines extended from her collar, reaching out toward Starmie and wrapping around two of its appendages. Siebold watched with amusement, smirking as Snivy got a firm grip.

"Take that Snivy for a ride, Starmie!"

As Ash's Pokémon tried to pull her opponent in and throw it around, Starmie started to spin around quickly. Snivy was caught off guard, her feet having absolutely no grip on the icy platform, and soon she was lifted off her feet, being spun around in circles in the air. Ash watched her fly about, not sure what to do, wondering if things would be better or worse if Snivy let go. Starmie made the decision for him, pulling her appendages in slightly, sliding them out of Snivy's grip; the snake Pokémon flew across the battlefield, crashing heavily into the floe she had been standing on before.

Snivy groaned as she got to her feet, looking back toward her opponent, but the only thing in her field of vision was a wall of water. She had no time to get away before the giant wave slammed into her, sweeping her along; when the wave subsided, Snivy was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh no!" Serena gasped, eyes carefully scanning the water, as Iris and Brock did the same. A few seconds later, a pair of vines reached out of the water and grabbed the edge of the platform, and Snivy pulled herself out of the water and back onto dry land, coughing and spitting out water. All three of the spectators breathed a sigh of relief.

"Starmie's strong… really strong," Ash muttered, frowning. "We're going to have to use some strategy. Snivy, use Attract!" Expecting Snivy to wink and pour on some charm, he was surprised to see his Pokémon turn back toward him, shaking her head, somewhat irritated.

"What are you doing, Ash…" Brock spoke, somewhat nervously. "Using Attract on a genderless Pokémon isn't going to work… he's not thinking straight."

As Ash looked back at Snivy, racking his brain, she suddenly found herself enveloped in a red aura. She quickly glanced down at herself, not sure what was going on, yelping as she rose into the air.

Siebold grinned, watching as his Starmie used Psychic on his opponent, taking control of her body. "You know what to do, Starmie! Rough that Pokémon up!"

As his Starmie focused, Snivy began to zoom through the air around the arena, panicking and starting to get dizzy. Ash watched from below, clenching his fist, not knowing how she was going to get out of this; all of her attacks required her body moving about a fair bit to unleash, either her vines or her limbs. After several long seconds, Snivy suddenly stopped above the ice floe closest to Ash, before she started to rocket downward. She screamed as she plummeted until she hit the ice, flat on her stomach, landing almost hard enough to crack the ice.

"No!" Ash stepped forward, trying to get a closer look, wanting to see if Snivy could still fight. As he got a good look at her face, however, it became clear that she was down for the count.

"Snivy is unable to continue the battle!" the referee announced, raising a flag on Siebold's side of the arena. "Starmie wins the bout!"

Iris groaned, disappointed. "This is really bad… Starmie doesn't even have a scratch on it. Pikachu's really going to have to pick up the slack." Her companions nodded, looking toward Ash, wondering what he was going to do next.

Back on the battlefield, Ash's heart was pounding as he reached for his Poké Ball to bring Snivy back. He had already been at a bit of a disadvantage when they started, having expected two of his Pokémon to do the bulk of the work, but with Snivy out of the picture, he found himself in a deep hole that he wasn't sure how to get out of. Pikachu was going to have to work miracles if he was going to get that badge.

He glanced down toward the Pokémon at his feet. "Alright, Pikachu. It'll be tough, but you're the strongest Electric-type Pokémon I know. If anyone can do this, it's you."

Pikachu looked up, giving his trainer a determined and reassuring look, before running out onto the nearest floe. Siebold remained unimpressed, not expecting much of anything out of this trainer anymore.

"The challenger's Pokémon is ready!" the referee announced. "The battle shall resume now!"

Siebold paused, waiting for the challenger to inevitably make his move. Instead, Ash held fast, exercising some restraint and waiting. The Gym Leader raised an eyebrow, wondering if this was newfound wisdom or a panicked, on-the-fly change in strategy.

"Alright, if that's the game you want to play." Siebold turned toward his Pokémon. "Starmie, use Psychic again!"

Starmie focused, and a fraction of a second later a red aura enveloped Pikachu just as it had Snivy. He tried to flail about for a moment, but Ash was remaining calm.

"Respond with Thunder Bolt, Pikachu! You can do it!"

His Pokémon closed his eyes tight, focusing hard and fighting against the power of the Psychic attack. He was able to flex his muscles just enough to summon electricity, and everyone watched with surprise as the bolt shot forward, zapping the unsuspecting Starmie. Both Pokémon fell back to the ground, with Pikachu landing lightly on his feet, and Starmie landing painfully on its back.

"Well, how about that? You've got some fight in you after all." Siebold grinned. "This battle may be more fulfilling than I expected."

"You can count on that!" Ash responded, starting to feel a bit more confident. "Don't let up, Pikachu! Electroweb!"

He watched as his Pokémon threw out a web of electricity toward his opponent, hoping that it would move quick enough, but Starmie was able to quickly recover and dodge, flying up into the air.

"Electro Ball!" Ash shouted. "Keep flinging until you hit your mark!"

"Water Gun, Starmie!" Siebold responded.

Both Pokémon started moving about the arena, firing projectiles at each other; Pikachu leaped from floe to floe, firing balls of electricity, while Starmie flew through the air shooting jets of water downward. Ash's friends watched nervously as the competitors sparred, wondering who was going to land the first hit.

The first one to hit their mark was Starmie; it eventually held still to take better aim, managing to hit Pikachu right in the face, knocking him to the edge of the floe and partway into the water. That momentary pause, however, gave Pikachu an easier target, and one of his Electro Balls perfectly hit its mark. Starmie was briefly incapacitated by the attack, as Pikachu clambered back onto the ice, coughing and spitting up water.

"Now's your chance!" Ash called out, clenching his fists. "Knock it down with Iron Tail!"

His Pokémon took a second to catch his breath before leaping forward, his tail becoming hard as iron. He swung it overhead, knocking the stunned Starmie down onto the ice below, incapacitating it further.

"Volt Tackle, Pikachu!" Ash shouted, not wanting to take any chances with this opponent.

"Don't let him do it!" Siebold called out. "Stop it with Psychic!" His call fell on deaf ears, however, as Starmie was still too stunned to act. Pikachu plummeted down on it from above, electricity coursing through his body as he slammed into poor Starmie headfirst, delivering a powerful shock.

A second later, Pikachu jumped back, trying his best to catch his breath as he coughed up some more water. Ash watched nervously to see if Starmie would get up and continue to battle, but a few seconds later, it became clear that it would not, as the referee raised one of his flags.

"Starmie is unable to battle! Ash wins the round, and each trainer now has two Pokémon left!"

Up in the bleachers, Brock, Iris and Serena all sighed in relief together, glad to see that this wasn't going to be a complete rout. Ash was relieved as well, but still nervous, as he looked over Pikachu, who was still coughing in response to the Water Gun. Being unable to breathe properly, he had spent more energy than necessary with those last few attacks, and now he was in worse shape than Ash was hoping for.

"Not bad, but you'll have to do more than that to give me a satisfying battle." Siebold returned Starmie to its Poké Ball, then grabbed another from his belt, tossing it onto the battlefield. The Pokémon that emerged had the appearance of a blue shrimp, with one of his claws enormous in size, easily dwarfing the rest of the Pokémon. Brock took out his Pokédex curiously, not familiar with this species.

"Clawitzer, the Howitzer Pokémon and the evolved form of Clauncher," the machine recited. "Clawitzer can travel at nearly 70 miles an hour when it propels itself by shooting water from the back of its claw."

As soon as the referee signaled for the start of the match, Siebold went on the offensive. He stepped forward and called out his first attack, sensing weakness in Pikachu and wanting to wear him down.

"Dragon Pulse!" he called out. "Nail that Pikachu!"

Clawitzer responded quickly, forming a purple ball of energy in his overlarge claw before shooting it out toward his opponent. Pikachu yelped and quickly leaped out of the way, trying to catch his breath, but Clawitzer quickly formed another Dragon Pulse and shot it out.

"Get closer, Pikachu!" Ash responded, needing to put a quick end to this assault. "Use Thunder Bolt when you get a chance!"

Pikachu quickly started moving, leaping from one ice floe to another, dodging a constant barrage of Dragon Pulses. Clawitzer could attack very quickly, but Pikachu was quicker even in his weakened state, and soon he was in position to attack. He charged up his body with electricity, crying out as he shot a bolt toward his opponent. Ash watched as the electricity arced toward Siebold's Pokémon, but right before the attack connected, Clawitzer suddenly rocketed away, powered by a strong jet of water from the back of its claw. The Thunder Bolt missed completely, hitting the ice and dissipating.

"Whoa, what?" Ash blinked at Clawitzer's sudden burst of speed, which shot it across the arena and into the water, where it disappeared underneath the surface. Pikachu quickly looked around, trying to find his foe under the surface, but Ash had other ideas, a smirk forming on his face.

"Thunder Bolt, Pikachu! Shock the entire pool!"

Pikachu nodded, smirking, charging up another attack, ready to put his foe out of commission. Before he could unleash the attack, however, Clawitzer quickly resurfaced in front of him, aiming his claw and firing a Water Pulse directly into Pikachu's face. He cried out as the attack connected head-on, knocking him into the water, where he sank downward.

"Oh no! Pikachu!" Ash quickly scanned the surface of the water, which was rocking all about, disturbed by the action that had just happened. Everyone watched and waited for Pikachu to reappear, slowly growing worried that he might not. After several long seconds, the Pokémon emerged with a splash and a gasp, grabbing onto an ice floe close to Ash and climbing on, sputtering and coughing up more water, trying to catch his breath.

After a second, he came to his senses and turned back toward Siebold, only to see Clawitzer rocketing toward him at an incredible speed. He had no time to react before his opponent swung a massive claw right into his body, knocking him far away.

Ash gasped as he saw Pikachu fly across the arena toward him, landing right at his feet. His Pokémon groaned in pain, water still leaking from his mouth, as Ash kneeled down to look into his eyes. His heart sank as he saw Pikachu's dazed and defeated expression, his body only moving to breathe and cough up more water. He didn't even notice the referee running over to get a better look, before quickly raising one flag.

"Pikachu is no longer able to battle!" he declared. "Siebold wins the bout! Ash only has one Pokémon left!"

Up in the bleachers, his friends were practically twisted up into pretzels. Siebold had two powerful and fresh Pokémon ready to go, and Ash only had his Skorupi available to him. None of them had any idea how he was going to win now.

"Well, that's a disappointment. This battle hardly qualifies as an appetizer," Siebold remarked casually, looking back toward his challenger. "Alright, then, who's your last Pokémon? Who's your ringer that's going to win the match?"

Ash didn't respond right away, feeling his heart sink into his stomach. He couldn't even think, stunned into silence by the beating that Snivy and Pikachu had just taken. A wave of embarrassment washed over him, as he started coming to terms with how badly he had miscalculated. After several seconds, he was finally able to think again, but he didn't have to think long about what to do. There was only one option available to him at this point.

"My ringer is nobody," he spoke quietly, defeated, as he reached out and cradled Pikachu in his arms. "I know I can't win the match like this. I forfeit."

Siebold smirked, ignoring the loud gasps that came from the bleachers. "Now that's the first smart thing you've done today." Ash nodded quietly, standing, looking down at the Pokémon in his arms, who had finally coughed the water out of his lungs. He felt numb, unable to hear the sounds of the gym around him, or the chatter happening in the stands.

"Oh my gosh, poor Ash… that was terrible." Serena sighed, disappointed, shaking her head a bit. "I guess he'll just have to train and try again tomorrow." She glanced over at Iris and Brock, who were still tensed, watching the battlefield nervously.

"There might not be a tomorrow," Iris responded, hands clasped anxiously. "This might be it for him."

"What?! What do you mean?" Serena exclaimed, a bit panicked. Iris held her hand out in front of Serena to quiet her, as Siebold spoke up again.

"Alright, Ash, here's the deal," he called out to Ash, who looked up in response. "Since you had the common sense to throw in the towel, I'll give you another chance. Come back and battle me tomorrow, and we'll see how you do. If you disappoint me again, though, you'll just have to find some other way to get your Gym Badge."

"Thank you, sir," Ash answered quietly and contritely. "I'll do better next time, I promise."

Serena blinked, putting the pieces of the conversation together, as Iris sighed in relief next to her. "Wait… you mean Siebold could have not let Ash have a rematch?"

"That's right," Brock answered, a mix of relieved and disappointed himself. "Every Gym Leader has the right to refuse a rematch, if they feel the trainer is unprepared. Normally it's meant to keep out little kids who are in way over their heads, but in cases like this…"

"But…" Serena needed a second to grapple with this information. "If that happens, how does Ash get all the badges he needs?"

Brock sighed. "In that case, his only hope would be to go get some more badges, then come back and try to convince Siebold to let him try again. If he still says no… I don't know what Ash does."

"That's… oh my gosh…" Serena looked back toward Ash, who was turning to leave, looking over Pikachu carefully. "Well, thank goodness he has another chance."

All three of them stood up, ready to follow Ash out of the gym. As Serena thought of what she was going to say to him, she was startled as she felt Iris pushing past her, storming to the end of the bleachers and marching down the steps toward Ash.

"What on Earth were you thinking?!" she shouted at him, furious, shocking everyone nearby. "Did you honestly think you could just waltz up and take out an Elite Four trainer?! What's _wrong_ with you?!"

"Whoa, Iris!" Brock exclaimed, as he and Serena rushed over to them. Iris continued, undeterred, as Ash looked up at her with terror in his eyes.

"You could have blown it all right here! The entire Kalos League, gone! When are you going to stop acting like such a little _kid_?!"

"Iris, that's enough!" Serena reprimanded, coming to Ash's defense. "Can't you see he feels bad enough already?"

Iris huffed and continued on down the stairs and past him, still fuming as she stormed out of the gym, not wanting to be in his presence for another second. Everyone watched her go, taken aback by what they had just seen.

"What on Earth…" Serena turned back toward Ash. "I'm sorry, Ash, that was…"

"It's fine," Ash muttered, looking back down at Pikachu, who was only just coming around. "I deserved it."

Brock stepped forward. "Ash, are you alright?"

"No." Ash turned and slowly walked out the doors, gutted. Serena and Brock followed, worried, hoping this loss wouldn't affect him too badly.

* * *

An hour later, they had returned to the Pokémon Center, where Snivy and Pikachu were recovering under the care of Nurse Joy. All four teens were in the cafeteria, eating one of the most quiet and awkward dinners they'd ever experienced. Ash ate slowly and kept his eyes down, deeply embarrassed, while Serena and Brock tried and failed to think of ways to break the ice. Iris, much like Ash, was looking very embarrassed at her own behavior. After ten painful minutes, Ash stood up, his plate of food not even half-finished.

"Ash, you barely ate," Serena spoke quietly, looking up at him.

"I'm not hungry." He turned and left the cafeteria, not bothering to pick up his plate and drop it off. Everyone watched as he walked out the doors of the Pokémon Center, stepping outside.

Serena sighed. "I should go and talk with him… try and cheer him up a bit."

"Maybe," Iris replied, standing up. "But I need to talk to him first." She took her finished plate and dropped it off, before following Ash out the main doors of the building.

"I hope she apologizes…" Serena muttered, partly to herself. She watched them go for a few seconds, before realizing that Brock was standing up as well; she glanced over to him, a little surprised. "Brock, are you going after him too?"

"Nah, I'll leave that to you two," he answered, grabbing his plate. "I have to go make a video call. I'll be back shortly." She watched him go, wondering what he was up to, before turning her attention back to her meal, finishing up quickly.

Outside, Ash had wandered a block or so away, absentmindedly, before coming to rest on a random bench. His head hung down, hands clasped in his lap, as he mulled over the severity of his failure. He had managed to barely avoid disaster, but his addled mind could barely conceive of how he was going to come back from this. As he stewed in his defeat, he failed to notice the footsteps quietly approaching him.

"Hey." He sat up a bit and turned toward the voice, seeing a humbled Iris walking in his direction.

He nodded back at her. "Hey."

"How are you feeling?" she asked, sitting down next to him.

He looked back down at his lap. "Not great." She nodded in response, biting her lip.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you, Ash. You didn't deserve that."

"It's fine," he answered, not looking in her direction. "You weren't wrong."

"I was just… shocked, more than anything," she continued, wanting to explain herself. "This was so unlike you. You've been so prepared and cautious up until now. You trained hard before each of your last two Gym Battles, but this time you just charged in headfirst. Why would you suddenly do that?"

Ash didn't say anything in response. Iris studied him carefully, seeing an embarrassed expression form on his face, even more so than before. She kept her eyes on him, trying to parse his expression, before something suddenly clicked in her mind.

"Oh no, Ash…" The disappointment was already evident in her voice. "Please tell me you weren't trying to impress Serena."

He turned a deep red, leaning forward more, wrapping his arms around his head as if he was trying to disappear. Iris sighed deeply.

"Well, did she look impressed to you?"

He groaned in response, as if he suddenly had a terrible stomachache. He could practically feel one developing, from the sheer force of humiliation he was experiencing right now. She sat back, filled with a mix of pity and disappointment.

"Why did you even think you needed to do that?" she asked, trying not to sound too judgmental. "It's obvious how much she likes you already."

"I don't know what I was thinking," he replied, still twisted up. "I'm an idiot. I'm a complete idiot."

"Well…" She tried to think of something to cheer him up, but everything she thought of sounded corny at best, or dishonest at worst. She decided to change tack. "The only thing you can do now is win tomorrow. Doesn't sound like you have a choice."

"No, I don't."

"I'm sorry again, Ash," she reiterated. "I'm willing to help you however I can."

"Thanks," he spoke quietly, finally sitting up a bit more, letting his hands rest back in his lap. "I might need it. It's going to be a long day of training tomorrow."

She nodded, standing up. "Are you going back inside? You need to finish eating. Starving yourself isn't going to help."

"I will in a minute," he answered. She nodded again, turning and walking back to the Pokémon Center. He continued to sit, still embarrassed, thinking about what a complete mess he had gotten himself into.

* * *

"…he just went in, guns blazing, against a member of the Elite Four. He thought he could get by just on type advantage and innate skill. You can imagine how well it went."

Back in the Pokémon Center, Brock was seated at one of the video phones, recounting the events of the day to someone on the other line. He wasn't making much of an effort to sugarcoat how things had gone.

"Ugh, Ash," a female voice responded from the video phone. "I wish I could say I was surprised, but he always liked rushing into trouble."

"Now he only has one day to train and have his rematch," he continued. "He needs some serious help. Do you think you could come down a day early, and, you know… give him a hand? Knock some sense into him, maybe?"

"Of course! Anything for Ash."

"Thanks a lot." Brock smiled warmly. "Sorry, I know this will kind of ruin the surprise."

"Oh, don't worry." The girl on the other end smirked evilly. "He'll definitely be surprised."

He grinned in response, and the two said their goodbyes before hanging up. He stood up and walked away, hoping that Ash was ready for what was about to come his way.


	14. The Toughest Teacher in Kanto!

Early the next morning, the streets of Shalour City were nearly empty as the morning sun peeked over the horizon, save for one teenager walking down the main street. This young redheaded girl wore an orange jacket over an athletic two-piece swimsuit, and would have easily fit in with the other swimmers that were out during the day. She looked over one building after another as she walked along, eventually stopping in front of the Pokémon Center.

As she looked up at the building, she felt a wide smile spread across her face, knowing who was sleeping inside right now. It had been years since she had last seen her friends, and happy memories of their travels together were flooding her mind. She was greatly looking forward to saying hello, catching up with them, and seeing how they had grown.

After a few moments, she sighed and shook herself out of her reverie. She took a deep breath as she lifted the megaphone she held in her right hand, bringing it to her mouth and bellowing into it.

"Ash Ketchum! You get your lazy butt out of bed and get outside this instant!"

Immediately, sleeping trainers in the Pokémon Center started waking up, wondering who was making such a din outside. Serena, Iris and Brock were all sitting bolt upright in bed, looking down at Ash, who had fallen out of his bunk entirely, tangled up in his sheets.

"Mmph… what the…" He fought with the sheets for a second until he extricated himself, quickly standing up and rushing to the window, vaguely recognizing the voice that had yelled his name. As he looked outside, he quickly spotted the girl making all the ruckus, his eyes wide as he realized who it was.

"No way!" He turned on his heel and raced toward the door, yanking it open and scrambling downstairs. Everyone watched him go for a moment, before Serena and Iris quickly hopped out of bed, taking Ash's place at the window. Brock followed at a more leisurely pace, knowing exactly who was waiting for Ash outside.

After racing downstairs at an Olympian pace, Ash stepped through the front doors of the Pokémon Center, his eyes focusing on the girl who was standing on the sidewalk, arms folded. He immediately recognized the girl's red hair, her single short pigtail, her teal eyes, and her trademark piercing glare. He grinned wide and started running toward her excitedly.

"Misty! What are you doing herglblblgblbll," he called out just as he took a Water Gun to the face, courtesy of Misty's Staryu, which knocked him onto his back. Misty tossed her megaphone on the grass in front of the Pokémon Center, marching toward him, as Ash's friends watched the exchange from above.

"Who on Earth is that?" Iris wondered. "How does she know Ash? Why is she shooting water at him?"

"I'm not sure," Serena replied. "But from the way she's acting, I think she's some kind of drill sergeant?" Brock smirked from behind them, as they all watched the girl march forward.

"Brock tells me you've been getting lazy," she scolded. "You strolled right into the Shalour City Gym, thinking you could steamroll it with a couple of type advantage Pokémon."

"Blurbl," Ash replied, sitting up and spitting out a mouthful of water.

"We Water-type Gym Leaders deal with an endless parade of trainers like you every day, thinking they can get an easy win with a couple of Thunder Bolts." She stood over him and leaned down menacingly, her hands on her hips and her eyes on his. "You think we just roll over and hand them their badge? No! We _beat them into the ground!_ And that's exactly what Siebold did to you!"

He looked back at her with something approaching fear in his eyes, wanting to defend himself but knowing better than to try when she was like this. "Why… why are you here?"

"Why do you think? I'm here to make sure you don't humiliate yourself a second time." She stood up fully, towering over him. "Meet me at the Ambergris Street pool in fifteen minutes. We've got a lot of work to do." She turned and walked off without another word, grabbing her megaphone off the ground as she passed by.

Ash watched her go for a minute, a wide variety of thoughts and emotions coursing through him at his old friend's sudden reappearance and demeanor. Once she had disappeared from his view, he picked himself up and quickly headed back inside to get ready. If there was one thing he knew for sure about Misty, it was that upsetting her was not a good idea.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Ash and Misty were standing on opposite sides of the Ambergris Street pool, which she had hastily converted into a battlefield by creating some ice floes. Pikachu was at his usual battle position, sitting to Ash's left at his feet, while a Staryu was in position next to Misty. Ash's traveling companions were still at the Pokémon Center, showering and eating at a more leisurely pace before they came to watch the impromptu training session.

"Alright, Ash, let's see how well you battle against Staryu," she began. "See if you can take it down. But there's one rule: no direct type-advantage attacks. You can't damage it with any Grass-type or Electric-type attacks. Got it?"

"None at all?" Ash blinked. "That's almost all Snivy and Pikachu have! How am I supposed to take Staryu down without them?"

"That's for you to figure out," she answered rather unhelpfully, before sending her Pokémon out onto the battlefield. "Now, who's getting trained first?"

Ash glanced down toward his feet. "Pikachu, you're up first. Do your best." Pikachu glanced up at his trainer for a moment, a bit surprised and skeptical, before getting on all fours and running out onto the nearest ice floe. He looked across the pool at Misty for a moment, recognizing this side of her, but still no less intimidated by it.

Misty quickly got started, making the first move. "Rapid Spin, Staryu!"

Her Pokémon started spinning around at a high speed, as if it were a buzzsaw, before it dove quickly at its opponent. Pikachu yelped and quickly leaped out of the way, landing on the edge of the ice floe as Staryu zoomed past.

"Wait for it to stop, then use Quick Attack!" Ash commanded. His Pokémon nodded, dodging another dive bomb from Staryu, before it slowly came to a stop. Pikachu acted quickly, leaping forward across several platforms before leaping up for the tackle; he slammed into his opponent with his entire body, knocking Staryu down onto one of the floes, where it took a second to get back up.

"Great job! Now use Iron Tail!" Ash followed up. His Pokémon responded quickly, his tail becoming hard as iron, and he began to swing it downward, ready to deliver a powerful blow.

"Staryu, use Water Gun!"

Right before Pikachu struck his foe, Staryu bent forward a bit, a large jet of water spraying out of its topmost limb. Pikachu took the water blast head-on, and was forcefully knocked back into the water; he resurfaced quickly, scrambling to get back onto the ice.

"Hold on!" Ash called out, stepping closer to the edge. "We can't use elemental attacks, but you can? How is that fair?"

"Do you want to win this badge or not?!" Misty shot back, before turning to her Pokémon again. "Use Bubble Beam! Keep Pikachu off balance!"

Ash's Pokémon yelped as Staryu shot a stream of surprisingly strong bubbles his way; he quickly leaped out of the way, struggling to keep a grip on the icy surface, before another stream of bubbles knocked him back into the water.

Ash groaned as Pikachu resurfaced once again, coughing and climbing onto the ice floe. He could already tell he had a long day ahead of him.

* * *

Some time later, Ash's friends had arrived at the pool as well, and were sitting nearby as Staryu and Snivy sparred. All three of them were watching attentively, but for markedly different reasons. Serena was worried about how this mysterious and bossy girl would treat Ash during training; Brock was watching two old friends interact as they once did; and Iris was still feeling guilty over how she acted, hoping that Misty would give Ash the help he needed.

Eventually, it became clear that both Pokémon were slowing down and losing energy, after the long and intense training. As Snivy was preparing to attack again, Misty called her Staryu back to her side.

"That's enough for now. It's time for a break." She stepped away from the pool and walked over to the nearby bleachers, opening up her bag and taking out a lunch she had prepared.

Ash sighed a bit in relief, ready for a break himself, and followed her over. He picked up his own bag, taking out a package of Pokémon food and some bowls, setting them out. Snivy and Pikachu walked over, ready to eat, as Ash took Skorupi out of his Poké Ball, who had gotten some training earlier in the day. He poured the food into each bowl, getting ready to hand them out, before Misty suddenly stepped in between him and his Pokémon.

"Hold it, all of you," she commanded, looking down at them. Skorupi stopped in his tracks, jumping a bit, while Snivy slumped forward, exasperated and hungry. Pikachu stood at attention, as if she were his commanding officer.

"All three of you need to be better swimmers. It got in the way during training, and I'm told it was a big problem during your Gym Battle, too." She folded her arms. "I want ten laps around the pool from each of you. Once you've done that, then you can eat. If you eat first, you're all going to cramp up."

Pikachu nodded and quickly turned around, leaping into the pool and starting to swim; Skorupi scuttled over as well, approaching the water nervously and not jumping in quite yet. Snivy stood her ground, looking up at Misty, not about to take orders from this stranger and her haughty attitude.

"You too, Snivy. Let's go."

The Pokémon looked past her, seeing the full bowl of food sitting on the bleacher, calling her name. She extended her vines and reached them out, intending to grab the food and bring it over. Misty reacted quickly, throwing her arm in the way of Snivy's vines, causing them to wrap tightly around it.

Snivy's eyes widened as much as they could, and she glared up angrily at Misty, who glared right back with a look that could peel paint off a wall. The two stared each other down for several moments, the vines still holding Misty's arm tightly, threatening to pull her forward and topple her over. Snivy eventually relented, retracting her vines and turning back toward the pool, walking with as much of her wounded pride as she could muster. Misty watched the Pokémon hop into the water before she turned around, taking a seat on the bleachers and starting to eat.

Ash watched the exchange unfold, impressed, before turning to eat his own meal. As he walked toward the bleachers, he heard what sounded like frantic splashing, along with the sound of a panicked squeal. He turned quickly, seeing Skorupi flailing about in the water, clearly not an adept swimmer.

"Whoa, hold on!" He rushed over as quickly as he safely could, kneeling at the side of the pool and reaching underneath his Pokémon, holding him up and giving him a chance to breathe.

"Just relax, Skorupi, I've got you. Try kicking with all your legs at once. Propel yourself forward."

His Pokémon did as he was told, trying to kick in a more synchronized manner, as Ash held him from underneath. As he watched Skorupi try to get a handle on swimming, he heard footsteps from someone walking in his direction; from the gentle lightness of each step, he knew exactly who was approaching.

"How do you think training is going, Ash?" Serena asked.

"Alright, I guess?" he responded, keeping his focus on Skorupi, making sure the Pokémon didn't drown. "She's making me think about battles in a way I usually don't, which is tough. It's definitely not training I'm used to, but I think we're making progress."

"That's good to hear." She glanced over at Misty, watching as she used a pair of chopsticks to pop a sushi roll into her mouth. "Is Misty always this… well…"

"Intense?" Ash offered.

"Sure, let's go with that."

"Not usually, no." He thought the answer over for a moment. "Well… not always. She doesn't like to mess around. It's fine, though. I'm not bothered by it."

"Are you sure?" Serena kept her eyes on Misty, not having seen a pleasant expression on her face since she arrived.

"Totally." Ash finally let go of Skorupi, watching proudly as the scorpion Pokémon started zooming across the surface of the water, no longer floundering. "She's a great friend. Trust me."

She nodded. "Alright, I trust you. But I sure hope this all pays off."

"That makes two of us." He stood up, stretching his back for a second. "Come on, let's eat. I'm starved." She nodded, following him over to the bleachers, where they sat down and shared a meal together. Brock and Iris also took the time to eat, talking together about how the training was going. Eventually, three tired and soaked Pokémon emerged from the pool to get their meals as well.

* * *

Long after everyone had eaten, Ash and Misty were back to battling, as the others watched. Snivy and Staryu had been squaring off for quite some time, and while both of them were winded, Snivy was the one who had more energy left in her tank.

"Don't let her win, Staryu!" Misty commanded, her competitiveness on full display even during this training session. "Use Swift!"

Her Pokémon let out a cry, summoning more strength, as a number of glowing stars shot out of its gem. Ash watched them approach, feeling confident about his response.

"Dodge it, Snivy! Use your vines and get closer!"

Snivy nodded, extending her vines and using them to push herself around, moving more quickly than she would otherwise. Staryu followed her, trying her best to land a blow, but Snivy was too agile for her exhausted opponent. Once she was close enough, she launched herself toward Staryu, using her shoulder to tackle her opponent and send it toward the ice floe underneath.

"Great work!" Ash cheered, starting to feel excited at the prospect of finally besting Staryu. "Now finish it with Slam!"

Snivy nodded, reaching her vines out and grabbing the floe below; she used her vines as leverage to pull herself downward at a high speed, her body aimed directly at Staryu. She let a smirk spread across her face, feeling confident and ready to put this Pokémon out of commission. Right before she landed, her eyes widened as she saw Staryu turn into a collection of red energy, summoned back to its Poké Ball. Unable to stop herself, she crashed into the ice at full force, smashing directly through it and landing in the water underneath with a large splash.

"What?! What are you doing?" Ash looked upward at Misty, who was holding out Staryu's Poké Ball in front of her. "That's not fair! We were about to finally win!" Snivy emerged from under the water as well, glaring angrily at Misty as she treaded water, sore and upset at being deprived of the satisfaction of victory.

"Practice is over. We're out of time." Misty reattached the Poké Ball to her belt. "You need to get to the Pokémon Center and heal these three up, if you're going to have time to battle Siebold again today. I'll be waiting for you at the gym."

Everyone watched as she grabbed her bag, slinging it over her shoulder before walking toward the pool exit. Ash was still searching for words, trying to articulate his thoughts, frustration and gratitude wrestling for dominance in his mind. Just before she walked out the door, she turned and glanced back at him.

"Good luck, Ash. You can do this."

With those words, she turned away and left, leaving everyone else a bit speechless.


	15. Round Two: Ash vs Siebold!

By the time Ash and his friends arrived back at the Shalour City Gym, Misty was already waiting for him in the bleachers, near the back, arms folded. Their eyes met for a moment as he walked forward, her stern look tempered by concern for the outcome of the battle ahead. After a second, he turned and looked back toward the gym leader on the opposite side, stepping into the challenger's position with Pikachu at his feet. Behind him, his friends walked into the bleachers; Serena led them to their seats several rows in front of Misty, not wanting to sit too close to the scary lady.

"Well, I'm glad you came back for another try," Siebold commented, studying Ash's chastened expression, pleased to see that he wasn't as overconfident as he was the first time he came in. "You've got tenacity, I'll give you that. I just hope this battle is more savory than the last."

"It will be," Ash replied. "I've been hard at work preparing for this rematch." His voice was confident but not assured, nervousness starting to creep in.

"Good." The gym leader nodded, not sure how much improvement could happen in 24 hours, but willing to give Ash the benefit of the doubt and see. "You already know the rules. Three Pokémon each side. If you don't impress me, you know what happens next."

Ash nodded back, not needing the reminder, watching as Siebold grabbed a Poké Ball from his belt and tossed it into the arena, bringing out the same Starmie from the previous day. It hovered over the battlefield, waiting for an opponent to appear, watching Ash as his hand moved to his belt. He took a deep breath before throwing the ball out, his Skorupi appearing on the nearest ice floe, trying to make itself look as large as possible. Siebold's eyebrows raised, intrigued by the choice of Pokémon; it was definitely different, but he didn't know yet if it was different for the sake of strategy, or simply for the sake of being different.

"The two trainers are ready to battle!" the referee announced dutifully from the side of the ring. "The battle will begin… now!"

Ash took the initiative, stepping forward and calling out. "Fell Stinger, Skorupi! Stick that Starmie!"

His Pokémon acted quickly, aiming his tail at his foe and starting to fire stingers in Starmie's direction, one after the other. Siebold watched with mild amusement as Starmie dodged the stingers with ease, wondering what exactly Ash was playing at.

"Water Gun! Knock that Skorupi off its feet!"

His Pokémon made an affirmative sound, summoning a jet of water from its crystal and firing at its opponent. Siebold watched the attack get closer, expecting the scorpion Pokémon to be knocked back and start floundering in the water. Instead, Skorupi leaped off of the ice floe right before the attack hit, landing in the water and dashing in Starmie's direction with surprising speed.

"Keep moving, Skorupi! Get closer!" Ash commanded, a bit buoyed as he saw the Pokémon swimming easily. His guidance from earlier in the day was paying off, and he watched as Skorupi continued to fire Fell Stingers at his foe, much to Siebold's chagrin. Starmie was still dodging, but it was getting more difficult as its opponent approached.

"Dazzling Gleam, now!" the Gym Leader called out. Starmie acted quickly, too quickly for Skorupi to react, and he was soon blinded by the bright flash that shone forth from the Pokémon's crystal. Ash looked away as soon as he could, managing to save his eyesight, while his friends in the stands covered their eyes with their hands and arms.

"Good work! Now hit it with Rapid Spin!"

Ash bit his lip, watching as Starmie turned itself flat and started to spin quickly, zooming down toward its opponent. Skorupi's eyesight was returning very slowly, too slowly for him to be able to see Starmie approaching, and he had to guess at the Pokémon's trajectory based on his other senses. Starmie curved around, trying its best to be unpredictable as it closed in, wanting to knock Skorupi across the arena.

As it got close, Ash's Pokémon suddenly turned, feeling a light gust of air from the spinning Starmie, and it stuck its tail out straight, wanting to get any small amount of poison damage that it could. When the impact finally came, both Pokémon made a pained noise, as Skorupi was sent flying across the pool, landing on another ice floe. Starmie returned to an upright position, hovering close, still feeling the sting of the scorpion tail; at the moment, nobody was sure if any poison had been transferred.

Siebold frowned as he looked out at the battlefield, thinking that this Pokémon might not be the pushover he was expecting. "Let's end this quickly, before things get bad! Use Psychic!"

Ash nodded, anticipating this and reacting quickly. "Get ready, Skorupi! Like we practiced before!" The Gym Leader raised an eyebrow, wondering what this could mean, as he watched Skorupi stiffen himself up, tensing all of his muscles. Seconds later, a glowing red light surrounded him, as Starmie focused intensely with its Psychic attack.

Just as Skorupi started to rise into the air, one more Fell Stinger shot out of his tail, as his muscles fired off with the last of the control they had. Starmie made a panicked noise as the stinger shot toward it, not having expected another projectile. It quickly shifted focus, using its Psychic ability to stop the stinger before it made impact. As the stinger fell to the ground, Starmie looked back down at its opponent, watching helplessly as Skorupi leaped toward it, jaw outstretched, and sank his poisonous fangs into one of Starmie's ten appendages.

Ash could hear a gasp from Serena in the stands, barely paying it any mind as he watched Starmie try unsuccessfully to shake Skorupi off. It took another Rapid Spin attack to dislodge the Pokémon after several long seconds, a dizzy and dazed Skorupi rocketing back into the water. As Starmie tried to catch its breath, hovering closer to the water than before, it was clear that it had been badly poisoned this time.

"Great work, Skorupi!" Ash grinned wide, watching Starmie slump. "Keep up the stinger attacks! They're sure to hit now!"

Skorupi issued a high-pitched noise of affirmation, aiming his tail once again at his foe and firing out a stinger. It easily hit its target, as Starmie made no attempt to dodge. Skorupi continued to attack, dazed and sore but energized all the same, excited to have done so much damage to such a powerful foe. A second and third stinger hit their marks, digging into Starmie's muscles before falling back down into the water. As he prepared a fourth, however, he was knocked away by a heavy ice floe smashing into his body, controlled by Starmie's telekinesis.

"Oh no!" Serena watched with clasped hands as Ash's Pokémon was sent flying, slamming into the back wall of the pool. All four of the spectators saw Skorupi start to sink into the water, nearly motionless, making no attempt to swim toward solid ground. Ash stepped forward, pulling out a Poké Ball and returning the Pokémon to it, making a signal to the referee.

"Ash has withdrawn Skorupi from the battle!" he announced, holding up a flag in Siebold's direction. "The challenger has two Pokémon left!"

Iris, Brock and Serena looked back and forth between the two trainers. Based on their expressions, one wouldn't think that Ash was the disadvantaged one; he looked determined and resolute, pleased at his Pokémon's performance. Conversely, Siebold was clearly disappointed at this turn of events, his Starmie looking tired and sickly. Ash's clever response to the Psychic attack had taken him completely by surprise, and that moment of hesitation had cost him greatly.

"You're definitely not the same trainer that came by yesterday," he commented, not sure if he was more annoyed or impressed. "But let's see if you can keep this up. Who's your next Pokémon?" He glanced down toward the Pikachu at Ash's feet, but his eyes flicked upward as Ash reached for another Poké Ball.

"Your opponent's weak, Snivy! Finish it off!" Ash tossed the ball in front of him, and it quickly ejected Snivy onto the closest ice floe. She quickly sized up her opponent, smirking as she saw it looking exhausted. She was going to enjoy getting payback for the day before.

"Ash's Pokémon is ready! The battle will resume… now!"

Before Ash could make a move, Siebold stepped forward, not wanting any of what Snivy was going to dish out. "Use Psychic again, Starmie! Stop it in its tracks!" He knew that with all of the poison Starmie had absorbed, there was no chance that any of its physical attacks would work out well; Psychic was now the only option left.

His Pokémon focused as best it could, as a familiar red aura began to surround Snivy. She struggled a bit, trying to free herself, surprised to find that she was much more mobile than she was during the last battle.

"You can fight it off, Snivy!" Ash called out. "Try to grab it with your vines!" She nodded and focused hard, her muscles fighting against the ineffective telekinesis, and her vines soon emerged from her collar. They reached out slowly and wrapped around two of Starmie's appendages as they had before; at this point, Starmie was too weakened to force them back.

"Perfect! Now get up close and finish with Leaf Blade!"

Snivy smirked and began to retract her vines while still holding onto Starmie, sending her rocketing forward, as her opponent started to panic. Just before they collided, Snivy whirled around, her tail glowing, and smacked Starmie across the gem with her Leaf Blade attack. Both Pokémon fell back down to the arena, with Snivy landing gracefully on an ice platform, while Starmie crashed into the water, completely incapacitated. The referee didn't need long to declare his verdict.

"Starmie is unable to battle! Both trainers have two Pokémon remaining!"

There was a visible release of tension from the stands upon Starmie's defeat; Serena and Iris let out audible sighs of relief, while Brock and Misty watched the battle with similar stern expressions, their arms folded. Ash still had an uphill battle ahead of him, but by trading his weaker Pokémon for one of Siebold's powerful ones, he had put himself in a much more favorable position.

Snivy, still fresh as a daisy, was energized and ready to get another shot at Siebold; her normally calm demeanor was gone, and she was chomping at the bit to take on her next opponent and redeem herself for her previous disastrous showing. She stared Siebold down, waiting for him to pull out his next Pokémon, wanting to show him what she could really do.

Siebold exhaled a deep breath, brushing off the frustration as he returned Starmie to its Poké Ball, before reaching for another. "If you want a battle, you'll get one." He hurled the ball into the arena, summoning the Clawitzer that most of them had seen yesterday. Snivy quickly sized up her opponent, studying him, recalling the possible strategies Ash had gone over with her before arriving at the gym.

As the referee signaled for the match to resume, Ash made the first move once again. "Leaf Storm! See if you can damage it!" His Pokémon nodded, summoning a number of leaves around her body before flinging them forward toward her foe.

"Block them with your claw!" Siebold responded. Clawitzer quickly turned himself so his enormous claw was facing Snivy, completely shielding his body. The leaves rammed ineffectively against the hard shell of the claw, leaving Clawitzer's body unharmed. Ash frowned, disappointed but not surprised; at least now he knew not to use that attack again.

"Show them what a real attack looks like! Use Dragon Pulse!" Siebold's Pokémon grunted, forming an energy ball in his claw, which fired out in Snivy's direction at a rapid speed. She yelped and dodged quickly, hopping onto another ice floe.

"That thing's more dangerous at a distance," Ash observed to himself, before raising his voice. "Try to get closer, Snivy!"

She nodded in response, extending her vines a bit and using them to propel herself around, jumping from one floe to the next. Clawitzer fired off one Dragon Pulse after another, trying to knock her back, but he was forming them a bit too slowly, and they were unable to catch the highly agile Snivy. She smirked as she got closer, ready to deliver a beating, but just before she landed on Clawitzer's platform, he aimed his claw directly at her, firing off a powerful Aqua Jet and landing a direct hit.

Ash and his friends watched nervously as she was knocked backwards into the pool, landing with a large splash. Seconds later, her vines shot out of the water, grabbing a nearby floe and pulling her onto it; she was soaked and quite unhappy, but not choking on water as she had been the previous day. Ash breathed a sigh of relief, before both he and his Pokémon turned their attention back toward Clawitzer, who was charging up his powerful jet, ready to blast off.

"Use the ice! Knock him off course!" he called out, diving into the well of tricks he had devised for this particular fight. Snivy understood the command perfectly, smirking as she leaped into the air, her vines grabbing the ice underneath her. She heaved it toward Clawtizer as hard as she could, and the crashing of the ice floes knocked him off course just as he was blasting off. He ended up zooming in a completely different direction, crashing face-first into another ice platform, breaking off a small chunk of it.

"Great work!" Ash grinned wide, wanting to press the advantage, as Snivy landed gracefully in the water. "Use Vine Whip! Aim for his body!"

His Pokémon nodded, reaching out with her vines as she treaded water, starting to slap Clawitzer about before he regained his senses. He yelped and snapped with his claws reflexively, trying to fight off the attack. After a couple seconds of this, his large claw managed to clamp down heavily on one of Snivy's vines, causing her to yelp in pain. She tried to pull herself free, slowly reeling Clawitzer in as they both struggled against each other.

"You're stronger in the water than she is!" Siebold called out. "Throw her around a bit!"

Clawitzer nodded, turning its body about, swinging Snivy with the giant claw clamped down onto her vine. She yelped as she was dragged along, swinging around in a wide arc and eventually being pulled out of the water and into the air. Her flight was short-lived, however, as she crashed painfully into the side of the pool before dropping into the water right below her. She felt her captive vine go slack and reflexively recalled it back to herself, not noticing the Dragon Pulse that her foe was charging up. She didn't have time to get out of the way before it exploded in her face, sending her flying and landing on another ice platform.

Ash watched nervously, nearly holding his breath as Snivy pushed herself up, exhaling in relief as she got back to her feet. The spectators in the stands were nervous as well, worried about the strength of Siebold's Pokémon, surprised at how difficult the battle was so far.

"Can you still fight, Snivy?" Ash asked, as Clawitzer used a water jet attack to propel himself back onto an ice floe. Snivy turned around and nodded resolutely, breathing harder than before, but looking more determined than ever, almost angry. He sighed and nodded back. "Good. Try to get up close and personal again, and watch out for Aqua Jet. You know what to do." She gave an affirmative reply before turning back toward Clawitzer, extending her vines again and using them to leap forward, as she had before.

"Keep her away, Clawitzer! Use Water Pulse!" Siebold called out in response. Everyone watched as Clawitzer started firing off balls of water, trying to knock his foe out of the air; Snivy's vines were as agile as ever, though, and she was able to dodge them with ease, even as she got close. Just as she launched herself toward his platform, he aimed at her once again and fired off another Aqua Jet, as he had before. This time, however, she reached out her vines and grabbed the floe he was resting on, pulling herself downward, just underneath the rushing jet of water.

Siebold watched as Snivy landed on the platform, inches away from Clawitzer, vines still extended, wondering what attack she was going to use. With so little space between them, his Pokémon had no chance of getting away even with his powerful water jet, and he worriedly watched her approach. After a brief pause, she adopted a coy smile, leaning in and affectionately rubbing her nose against his, much to his surprise and confusion. She stood up again, giving him a flirtatious wink before using her vines to leap away, returning to Ash's end of the battlefield and motioning for him to follow her.

"Don't do it, Clawitzer!" Siebold warned, recognizing the powerful Attract ability. "Keep your distance! Don't follow her!" His words fell on deaf ears, as his suddenly lovestruck Clawitzer started charging up his jet, wanting to join the object of his desires as quickly as possible. The whole room watched as he took off in her direction, flying across the battlefield, as she kept her gaze on him. Once he was a few feet away, she smirked and leaped into the air, over his head; he looked upward, trying to keep his gaze on her, his affection turning into confusion. He didn't realize until it was too late that he was unable to stop his charge, and he slammed full force, face-first, into the concrete that lined the battlefield. Ash's friends all winced in unison at the impact.

"Geez, that looks like it really hurt…" Iris commented. "I'm surprised he didn't crack his shell slamming into that wall."

"That Snivy's a real heartbreaker, isn't she?" Serena wondered aloud, impressed by Snivy's feminine wiles. "I almost feel sorry for that Clawitzer."

"You've nearly got him!" Ash called out, grinning. "Finish the job! Use Slam!"

Snivy nodded, grinning in anticipation of her victory, as she extended her vines and grabbed the edge of the pool. Once they had a grip, she quickly pulled herself in, sending herself flying toward her dazed opponent. Partway through her charges, her eyes widened in shock as she saw Clawitzer's jet charging once again, and he rocketed backwards toward her. The two Pokémon slammed into each other with incredible force, knocking each other back; Snivy landed heavily on an ice floe in the middle of the arena, while Clawitzer landed on another platform, close to Ash.

After lying motionless for a moment, Snivy coughed and tried to rise to her feet, one hand holding her chest. Her breathing was harsh and labored, even more so than before, and despite her best efforts to push herself up, she eventually collapsed back into a kneeling position. Ash's friends looked nervously toward the referee, fearfully waiting to see if he would make an announcement, but he continued to stand and watch carefully. Snivy was still technically able to battle, but there wasn't much fight left in her.

"That was a pretty clever trick, Ash, but you need more than that to defeat us," Siebold taunted, his confidence having returned to him. "Take her down, Clawitzer! One more jet will finish her off!"

Ash's fist clenched as he watched the battered and heartbroken Clawitzer charging up to take off once again. His eyes darted back over toward Snivy, who was still unable to stand, looking as if she had no strength left in her. She slowly extended her vines, still able to move them decently well, as she glanced back at her trainer, wanting him to know she wasn't completely out of it. He could see the desire in her eyes, the message that she was clearly sending: _let me finish this._

He looked back and forth between the two Pokémon for a moment, mind racing for an idea, before coming up with one last gambit. "Tilt him upward! Send him sky high!"

She nodded, her vines shooting out in front of her and grabbing the near edge of Clawtizer's ice floe, tilting it up and aiming her foe toward the ceiling, just as he blasted off. He made a panicked squeal as he flew uncontrollably into the air at an amazing speed, ultimately slamming into the ceiling of the gym.

"No! What?!" Siebold exclaimed, his swagger evaporating in an instant.

Ash grinned wide, pleased and impressed. "Now, bring him back down to Earth!"

Snivy smirked as she extended her vines one more time, reaching upward and snatching Clawitzer out of the air. Using all of her strength, she swung him downward toward the arena, sending him crashing into one of the ice floes, which were starting to dwindle in number. His body smashed right through it, breaking it into small pieces that spread across the pool. The entire room watched the area where Clawitzer had landed, as bubbles slowly rose to the surface of the water. His body eventually bobbed up to the top, mostly motionless, the dazed expression on his face clear to everyone.

"Clawitzer is unable to battle!" the referee proclaimed, raising a flag in Ash's direction. "Snivy has won the bout! Gym Leader Siebold has one Pokémon left!"

"Yes!" Ash thrust his fist into the air, thrilled, able to hear cheers from the stands as well. "You did it! Great job, Snivy!"

Snivy smirked, glancing back at her trainer as she breathed heavily, proud of herself. The next instant, her arms and legs finally gave out, and she collapsed onto the ice, her eyes closing as she slipped under. Ash gasped, running to the corner of the challenger's box, trying to get a better look at his Pokémon, futilely hoping that she might still be conscious. As he got a glimpse of her face, it was clear that she was down for the count, having given everything she had.

"Snivy is down as well!" the referee announced. "Both trainers are down to their final Pokémon!"

"Oh gosh, poor Snivy…" Serena spoke quietly to the others, her hands clasped nervously. "She was hurt a lot worse than I thought…"

"Me too," Iris responded. "After that last attack, I thought she was going to be able to tough it out and let Ash return her."

Brock shook his head. "There was no way she could have kept battling after the injury she sustained. She should have fainted after that Slam attack, honestly. I guess she just wanted to beat Clawitzer that badly."

Several rows behind them, Misty was still sitting quietly, her gaze fixed on the Gym Leader opposite Ash, trying to figure out what was going through his head. Siebold was having his Pokémon fight harder than they should have for a third-badge battle, and she didn't know why. Perhaps he was trying to punish Ash for his hubris the previous day. Whatever the case, she wasn't happy about it, but she was reluctant to intervene just yet. She would wait and see how the battle turned out for Ash.

Ash sighed, proud and upset at the same time, taking out Snivy's Poké Ball and returning her to it. "You did a great job, Snivy. Get some rest and we'll fix you up soon." He put the ball away, glancing down at the Pokémon at his feet, who was looking back up at him.

"It's all on you, Pikachu. Whoever he's got, I know you can beat them." Pikachu nodded resolutely, turning and leaping out onto the closest ice floe, on all fours.

On the other end of the arena, Siebold sighed as he returned Clawitzer to his Poké Ball. On one level, he couldn't help but be pleased by the massive improvement Ash had shown; it was almost baffling to him that this could be the same trainer who so badly fumbled yesterday's battle. On another level, however, he was certain that his Clawitzer would defeat Snivy, and his own pride was somewhat wounded by the fact that she had been the victor instead. He tried to push it out of his mind as he reached for his final Poké Ball.

"I have to say, Ash, you've impressed me," he admitted, tossing his Poké Ball in the air and catching it repeatedly. "This is a much more savory battle than I anticipated. But it's not over yet."

He hurled the ball into the ring, dispensing a sizable amount of energy that quickly formed into a rather large Pokémon. Seconds later, Ash and Pikachu were looking up at a Gyarados as it hovered above the pool. He let out a loud roar that nearly shook the gym, wanting to intimidate, wanting to dominate his competition.

"Both Pokémon are ready! The battle will resume… now!"

Siebold made the first move this time, speaking just as soon as the referee finished. "Dragon Dance, Gyarados!"

Ash's eyebrows raised as he watched Gyarados spin in circles, powering himself up as a blue aura enveloped him. He was surprised to see a power-up move like that so soon; the Gym Leader he was up against was not clearly pulling any punches. He held his ground, not issuing any commands to Pikachu yet, waiting to see what Siebold had in store.

Siebold smirked a bit as he watched Ash hesitate. "Not going to make the first move? Then allow me." He looked up at Gyarados, who had just finished powering up. "Use Whirlpool!"

Gyarados gave another roar before pointing his tail toward his opponent, drawing circles in the air as the tip of his tail began to glow. Pikachu looked around as the water around him started to stir and churn, forming a large whirlpool. He yelped as the ice he was standing on started to move, caught up in the churning water, and he dug his meager claws into the ice to keep from falling off.

Ash's eyes scanned the pool quickly, looking for a way that Pikachu could escape, and he quickly found one. "There's another ice platform just outside the whirlpool, Pikachu! Jump to it when you can!"

His Pokémon nodded, looking around and quickly finding the floe in question, as Gyarados started to approach for another attack. Siebold's Pokémon whipped at the ice with his tail, just as Pikachu managed to jump off, scampering several floes away.

Ash sighed in relief before speaking up again. "Good work! Now use Electroweb!"

Pikachu quickly whirled around, forming a ball of electricity on his tail and flinging it at Gyarados, watching as it spread out into a wide web. His foe tried to escape, but he was both too large and too slow to get out of its way. Both trainers watched as the web wrapped around Gyarados and delivered a powerful shock, knocking him out of the air and dropping him into the pool.

"Great job!" Ash pumped his fist, glad to be starting this battle off strong. "Use Thunder Bolt on the pool, before he gets out!" Pikachu quickly aimed his head downward at the water, his body crackling with electricity; just before he delivered the shock, however, Gyarados roared and burst from the pool, hovering in the air again. Pikachu stopped charging, looking up at his opponent.

"Well, we can't be having more of that," Siebold commented. "Use Rain Dance!"

Gyarados growled and looked upward, focusing intently, a dark cloud forming above his head and swirling outward until it covered the arena. Seconds later, rain started to pour down from it, soaking both Pokémon and lightly misting the trainers on either end of the arena. Ash frowned, having expected something like this; all the water in the air would diffuse most of Pikachu's electric attacks, making them much less effective. They would have to get up close and personal for this fight.

"Swoop in and attack with Aqua Tail!" Siebold commanded. His Pokémon immediately swooped in toward Pikachu, a large mass of water forming on his tail, and once he got close he whipped his entire body around, swinging the tail directly at his foe. Pikachu leaped upward to avoid the attack, getting splashed a bit but mostly unharmed.

Gyarados quickly turned back around, realizing his attack had missed and trying to find his opponent again. As his eyes focused on Pikachu, he only had a moment before an Iron Tail smacked him heavily across his face, knocking him back into the water. He landed with a large splash, disoriented and needing a moment to regain his bearings; seconds later, a powerful electric shock ran through him, as Pikachu slammed into him with a Volt Tackle.

"Wow, look at that!" Up in the stands, Serena was watching excitedly with Iris and Brock, feeling more confident that Ash would win this battle and his Torrent Badge. "Pikachu's running circles around Gyarados!"

"It's a great matchup for Ash," Brock replied. "Pikachu's really agile, and Gyarados clearly isn't. So long as he doesn't mess things up, this should turn out in his favor." Iris nodded in agreement; as pessimistic as she usually was, she couldn't deny that Ash had a strong upper hand.

On the other end of the arena, Siebold watched as Pikachu leaped away from Gyarados and back onto a nearby ice floe, ready for the next attack. He had hoped to give Ash a decent challenge with his final Pokémon, but so far he had done nothing of the sort. At this rate, Ash was going to walk away with an easy victory, with barely a scratch on his Pikachu.

He looked across the pool, seeing the confident grin spreading across Ash's face, as he planned out his next attack. This expression was very familiar; it was the same overconfident grin he had yesterday, when he had gotten utterly trounced by just two of Siebold's Pokémon. As the Gym Leader envisioned Ash walking away with a Torrent Badge in hand, the same cocky expression on his face and the same foolish confidence settled in his mind, he felt a surprising anger rising up inside him, an almost visceral disgust. In that instant of anger, Siebold came to a hasty decision, one that would completely change the tide of this battle.

"This battle is going a bit too easily for you, I think." Siebold reached up with his left hand, adjusting the gold brooch that he wore just under his collar. "What do you say we make things a bit more interesting?"

Ash's eyes followed Siebold's hand curiously, wondering what he was referring to, studying the brooch and the rainbow stone laid within it. His eyebrows shot up as he recognized what the Gym Leader had just revealed, and what it meant for the remainder of the battle. "What the… a Mega Brooch?!"

He smirked back at him, secretly pleased to see the expression on his face. "You didn't think it was going to be that easy, did you?" He touched the Key Stone with two fingers, as if he was checking his pulse, a rainbow light emanating from it.

Ash watched in horror, turning his attention to Gyarados as a rainbow jewel embedded in the Pokémon's forehead began to shine as well, with a similar rainbow light. Gyarados began to glow and transform, growing in size as a number of additional fins emerged from his body, including an enormous one on his back, giving him a much more imposing appearance. A few seconds later, the transformation was complete, and everyone looked on as the enormous form of Mega Gyarados hovered over the battlefield.

Iris, Brock and Serena were aghast at the sight of the enormous Pokémon, dwarfing the tiny Pikachu as it glared down menacingly. Their momentary optimism and excitement had completely vanished, replaced by confusion and fear. This battle had been difficult for Ash before, but now things were really going off the rails. None of them had any idea what was going to happen next.

"Let's get this battle started for real, shall we?" Siebold call out tauntingly. "Gyarados, Waterfall!"

His Pokémon growled, eyes glowing a bit, and Pikachu noticed the water underneath him starting to churn and swell. A moment later, he yelped as a column of water shot up from underneath him, sending him into the air; the ice he was standing on tilted and fell away, leaving him trapped in the water, fighting to keep his head dry.

"See if you can swim out of it, Pikachu!" Ash called out, shouting to be heard over the sound of the water. Pikachu didn't get the chance, as a quickly-aimed Hydro Pump knocked him out of the column of water and back into the pool. He emerged a moment later, climbing onto another ice floe, coughing and choking on water as he had been before. Ash watched nervously, not daring to issue another command until Pikachu had recovered, but knowing Siebold wouldn't grant the same courtesy.

"Go after him with Aqua Tail! Knock him around a bit!"

Gyarados roared and zoomed toward Pkachu's position, water forming around the tip of his tail once again. Pikachu managed to catch his breath again just as his foe was getting close.

"Dodge it and follow up with Electro Ball!" Ash commanded, hoping that the concentrated electricity blast would survive despite the rain that was still falling in the arena.

Pikachu nodded, leaping out of the way as Gyarados's tail slammed into the ice, smashing it into small pieces. He quickly whirled around, flinging a ball of electricity toward his foe, as large as he could make it. The attack hit Gyarados squarely in the center of his back, causing him to roar in pain; he recovered almost immediately, however, minimally damaged. Pikachu watched in shock as his foe whirled around once again, smacking Pikachu with his Aqua Tail and sending him flying across the arena, landing heavily on another ice platform. Ash gritted his teeth as he watched his Pokémon get back to his feet, sore and irritated.

"Having a bit of trouble, Ash?" Siebold called out, smirking. "There's no shame in throwing in the towel, you know. You should know that already."

Ash glared back angrily, trying to suppress his emotions, knowing the Gym Leader was trying to get under his skin. "No way! I'm not giving up, not when I still have a chance to win!"

"Hmph. Well then, it's time for us to eliminate that chance."

Ash's fists clenched, then unclenched, as he took a deep breath; he would need to stay calm and focused if he wanted to get out of this with a win. Gyarados was still hurt from the damage Pikachu had done earlier in the match, but the Mega Evolution had given his stamina a huge boost, and now Pikachu was the one who was worse off. After a few more powerful attacks from Gyarados, the match would be over.

"Keep it up, Gyarados!" Siebold ordered, no longer having any intention of allowing Ash to win the match, his emotions and his pride fully in control of the battle. "Chase him down and use Ice Fang!"

"Get away from it, Pikachu!" Ash called out in response. "Keep your distance! Wait for an opening!"

Pikachu nodded, starting to leap between the ice floes, which were becoming more and more sparse as the fight went on. Gyarados chased after him, moving as fast as he could, trying repeatedly to chomp down on his foe, but hitting only water or air. After a minute of this, Gyarados chomped down hard on an ice platform that filled his mouth, as Pikachu leaped into the air.

Ash watched as Siebold's Pokémon took a moment to spit out ice, stepping forward. "Now's your chance! Iron Tail! Aim for his eyes!"

Gyarados growled as he spat out the remaining ice, looking upward just as Pikachu was spinning around, unable to dodge the incoming attack. Pikachu's tail turned as hard as iron once again, and he swung it directly into Gyarados's eyes, the pointed corners of his tail digging in deep. The dragon Pokémon roared in pain, shutting his eyes tight as he backed away, his cries reverberating loudly through the gym.

"No!" Siebold cried out, watching as his Pokémon writhed in pain, furious. Ash sighed a bit in relief as Pikachu scampered away, thinking about what his next attack was going to be. To the surprise of both trainers, however, Gyarados dove back into the water and started thrashing about angrily, desperate to cause some sort of damage to Pikachu, even though he could barely see.

"Gyarados, stop! Save your energy!" Siebold commanded. His Pokémon ignored him, out of control, splashing water all about and shattering one ice floe after another. Pikachu kept jumping around, trying to keep himself on solid ground as best he could, not wanting to get struck by an errant fin or tail.

"I don't believe it," Iris commented, her eyes glued to the fracas in front of her. "Siebold can't control Gyarados right now. I never thought I'd see something like that from him."

"It might be because of the Mega Evolution," Serena offered, remembering how Korrina had trouble controlling her own Mega Lucario during her first journey through Kalos. "That and his eyes… and Gyarados are probably hot-tempered all on their own. That's a bad mix."

"Well, if Gyarados wears himself out, that's good for Ash," Brock added. "But this could go really badly, too…"

Pikachu continued to jump between ice floes as best he could, until one of his jumps finally landed him in the water. He surfaced and looked around quickly, trying to find some ice to climb onto, before realizing there was none left. Gyarados, in his rampage, had destroyed all of the floes in the arena, leaving Pikachu practically nowhere to go. He started to panic upon realizing this; he wasn't a terrible swimmer, but there was no way he could travel faster than his Water-type opponent.

It took nearly a full minute, and plenty of shouting from Siebold, for Gyarados to finally come to his senses. He slowly rose out of the water, growling and squinting as he scanned the water, his damaged eyes coming to rest on a yellow blob in a sea of hazy blue. He roared loudly, ready to exact his revenge.

"Finally," Siebold muttered, before raising his voice once again, ready to put this battle to a quick end. "Use Whirlpool again! Don't let Pikachu get away!"

Pikachu quickly tried to swim away, using his legs and even his tail to propel himself, but it was no use; he was easily caught up in the whirlpool that formed underneath him, spinning round and round with the water. He focused on Gyarados as best he could, trying not to get dizzy and wanting to keep his eyes on his still-dangerous opponent.

Siebold looked toward Ash, smirking as he saw the worried expression on his face, his confidence gone. "Last chance, Ash. Are you going to finish this, or are we?"

Ash looked back at him, conflicted. Siebold's taunts were infuriating him, but at the same time he was extremely worried for Pikachu. He stood wordlessly, not sure what he should do, not wanting to give up but also not wanting his Pokémon to be too badly hurt.

After a moment of this, Siebold shrugged. "Alright then, have it your way." He looked back toward his own Pokémon. "Finish it off, Gyarados! Use Hyper Beam!"

Pikachu jumped a bit as he heard the name of the attack, looking up at his foe, watching Gyarados charge up an enormous yellow energy ball in his mouth. He panicked, trying his best to swim away and escape the whirlpool, but it was to no avail. Gyarados squinted down at his tiny opponent, roaring as it unleashed a powerful beam toward the whirlpool, and the Pokémon trapped inside.

The blast from the Hyper Beam created an enormous splash as it hit the pool, sending water flying in every direction. Ash's friends covered their faces as they were sprayed with stray droplets, while Ash was nearly knocked back by a wall of water, soaking him from head to toe. The attack left a cloud of mist where it had hit, obscuring both Pokémon, and the entire room watched with bated breath to see the aftermath of the attack.

As the mist slowly cleared after a few seconds, the pool became visible once again. Gyarados was still hovering above it, squinting and breathing hard, the last attack having sapped plenty of its stamina. The whirlpool had been completely destroyed by the Hyper Beam, with all of the water in the pool rocking about, disturbed by the powerful attack. Pikachu, however, was nowhere to be seen.

"Hm?" Siebold scanned the surface of the turbulent pool, then the rest of the gym, briefly thinking that Pikachu might have been disintegrated. Everyone else followed his lead, searching the water carefully, trying to find any signs of Ash's Pokémon. After a few seconds, a yellowish glow started to appear in the water underneath Gyarados, and several spectators gasped as Pikachu burst forth from the water, having propelled himself forward with Volt Tackle.

"What the…?!" Siebold goggled. "Are you kidding?! Did the attack miss entirely?!" He watched with everyone else as Pikachu shot up, grabbing onto the tip of Gyarados's tail and hanging on for dear life.

Ash was briefly stunned like everyone else, but he quickly shook it off, knowing not to waste this opportunity. "Thunder Bolt, Pikachu! Give it everything you've got!"

With an almighty cry, Pikachu glowed yellow with electricity, shocking Gyarados with every last bit of energy he had. Siebold's Pokémon roared and shrieked in pain, his body convulsing as the powerful shock coursed through him for several long seconds. Pikachu eventually relented, spent, letting go of Gyarados and falling back into the water; his opponent quickly followed suit, crashing into the pool heavily, sending more water flying about. Pikachu popped back up above the surface moments later, tiredly treading water, watching with everyone else as Gyarados started to glow and shrink, the Mega Evolution wearing off. As he reappeared in his normal form, the expression on his face, and the outcome of the battle, was clear for everyone to see.

"Gyarados is unable to continue!" the referee declared, raising a flag in Ash's direction. "Challenger Ash has won the match!"

"Yes! Yes!" Ash jumped and thrust his fist into the air, unable to contain his excitement. "We did it! Great job, Pikachu!" His Pokémon turned back to him, exhausted but relieved, smiling as he slowly swam back toward dry ground. On the other end of the arena, Siebold was unable to do anything but stare in complete disbelief at his defeated Gyarados, not even returning him to his Poké Ball.

Ash could hear the excited cheers of his friends in the stands as well, as they started to scamper downward. Serena was the first to escape her seat, running down the stairs.

"Ash, you were amazing!" She ran right up to him, a wide smile on her face as she threw her arms around him. "CongratuEEK!" She immediately let go, jumping backwards as if she had been stung. "Ash, you're freezing! You're soaked through!"

"Haha, yeah…" He rubbed the back of his head. "That last attack was a doozy, huh?"

"You did it, Ash! You won!" Both of them turned back toward the stairs to see Misty running over, grinning from ear to ear as she ran up to Ash, raising her arm above her head. Ash grinned wide, raising his hand as well, and the two of them shared a high-five, before clasping hands and bringing them down together. "What a great battle! That's the Ash I wanted to see."

"Thanks, Misty. I doubt I would have won that battle without all your help."

"I don't know about that," she replied, grinning at him. "I didn't teach you any of those ice tricks you used, that's for sure."

The two of them kept talking, discussing the battle that had just happened, as Iris and Brock stood nearby and listened in. Beside them, a bedraggled Pikachu pulled himself out of the water, getting on all fours and shaking as much water out of his fur as he could. He sat up, looking toward his trainer as he talked excitedly with Misty, waiting to be noticed and given attention. As he watched, he felt a different pair of hands lifting him up into the air; he turned about to find himself looking into Serena's eyes.

"You were amazing, too, Pikachu." She smiled warmly as she held him in her arms. "You're every bit the fighter you were before." Pikachu murmured happily, nuzzling her chest and collar, his whole body relaxing as she lightly scratched his head.

"Well, that certainly didn't go the way I expected." Everyone turned to see Siebold walking along the side of the pool toward them, attaching Gyarados's Poké Ball to his belt. "Here I thought I would be giving you a lesson in humility… but it looks like I'm the one who got served a slice of humble pie."

He stopped walking, standing in front of Ash with his arms folded. "You're definitely no ordinary trainer, I can see that now." His eyes glanced over to the redhead standing by his side. "I should have known something was amiss when this little firebrand walked into my gym."

Misty smirked at him, inwardly satisfied to see the defeated expression on his face. "Don't be bitter just because you lost our last battle, Siebold."

He smirked back at her. "That was a fluke. I want a rematch one of these days."

"Don't worry, you'll get one," she replied. "But right now, I think your Pokémon need some fixing up."

He let out a laugh, stung and amused at the same time, before turning back toward Ash. "In any case, that was quite a battle you fought. There's no question you've earned your Torrent Badge now." He reached into his pocket, pulling out a metallic badge with the appearance of a rushing river, bent into an S-shape. Ash grinned and reached out to accept the badge, but instead of handing it over, Siebold pulled his arm back.

"So my question is, who was the sorry trainer I battled against yesterday?" His eyes narrowed as he looked back toward Ash, who appeared taken aback by the question. "How did a trainer of your caliber turn in such a pitiful performance?"

"That… I…" Ash stammered for a moment as he grappled with the answer, able to feel everyone's eyes on him. His head tilted downward, as the memory of yesterday weighed shamefully on him.

"I was…" He took a deep breath. "I was overconfident… reckless… I was taking the badge for granted. I thought it would be no problem, and I didn't need to prepare for it." He looked back up, forcing himself to meet Siebold's eyes. "It's a mistake I won't make again, I promise."

Siebold nodded, pleased with this answer. "You had better not. You need to bring your entire self to every battle, and always fight as if it's your last. Even the strongest trainers can fail if they aren't taking their battles seriously." He extended his arm again, offering the badge to Ash. "I fully expect to see you at the Pokémon League, and if I find out you ended up flopping against some other Gym Leader, I'm going to be very disappointed."

Ash nodded, smiling as he gracefully accepted his Torrent Badge. "Don't worry, I don't plan on disappointing you again."

"Good. Now get out of here, all of you. I need to close up the gym."

All of them turned to leave, walking back toward the front door. Ash kept his eyes down and on the badge he had just received, filled with an immense relief he could barely quantify, which drowned out the shame of his previous failure. Serena walked next to him, still holding Pikachu in her arms, smiling down at the badge, thrilled that his journey was once again back on track.

"I think we all need a break after that battle," Misty spoke up, turning to face the group as she walked in front of them. "Dinner's on me. What do you say?"

Ash grinned, looking back up at her. Amidst everything that had happened, he had nearly forgotten that one of his oldest friends was here with him, and they definitely needed to catch up. "Sounds good to me. I think I need to get changed first, though…" He glanced down at himself and his completely soaked clothes.

Brock quickly agreed, picking up the pace a bit as they all walked out of the gym. Serena and Iris followed close behind, both of them curious about Misty's apparent personality change, but thankful that she was no longer giving Ash a hard time as she had been for most of the day. All of them turned and walked down the main street of Shalour City, taking in the sight of the setting sun as they returned to the Pokémon Center.


	16. The Shalour City Water Festival!

"…and since then, I've mostly been tending to the gym with my sisters. Though I do travel from time to time, obviously."

Ash grinned, swallowing his bite of food. "Sounds like you've had some adventures since we last talked."

Misty smirked back at him. "Not half as interesting as the adventures you've been on, I bet. Trouble follows you around like a lost Lillipup."

All five of them were eating dinner at a restaurant on the shore, enjoying some fresh seafood as Misty recounted what she had been doing over the past few years. Brock was mostly familiar with the stories, as he had kept in touch, but Ash listened with rapt attention, knowing almost nothing about Misty's travels. Serena and Iris listened carefully as well, curious about this girl's apparent personality change. She had been harsh and unrelenting with Ash through the day's training, but now she was all smiles, her voice and her face gentle as she talked, her eyes bright. Ash and Brock didn't seem mystified by it at all; this must have been a normal thing.

"So what brings you to Kalos, Misty?" Iris asked. "I'm guessing you didn't come here just for Ash."

Misty shook her head. "No, I was already here. I'm participating in the Water Festival here in Shalour City. Siebold invites me every year." It was impossible for her to hide the pride in her voice as she said this.

"Really? What do you do there?" Ash asked, impressed.

"A bunch of things," she answered. "Lots of battling, lots of meeting other Water-type trainers… the biggest event is on the first day, where a lot of the invited trainers have a big group performance. That's tomorrow afternoon."

He grinned back. "Well, we'll definitely have to stay and see that."

"You had better," she replied with a smirk. "It's the least you can do, after today."

"It's pretty fortunate that we were here when we were," Serena added. "If we had been here a couple days earlier, we'd have missed you completely. That's quite a coincidence, huh?"

Brock smirked, swallowing a bite of his meal. "Oh, yeah. Complete and total coincidence, there."

Ash blinked at this, taking a second to parse his response before grinning. "Wait… you planned this out, didn't you? You made sure we would be here now when we were planning our journey! You sly dog!"

Brock chuckled in response. "I was going to bring everyone to the festival tomorrow. Seeing Misty there was supposed to be a surprise, but, well. You know."

"Yeah…" Ash rubbed the back of his head, a bit embarrassed. "Sorry that your surprise got ruined, Misty."

"Don't worry about it, Ash. It was worth it to see the look on Siebold's face when he lost." She stood up, grabbing her empty plate. "I'm going to grab some more food, hold on."

As they watched her turn and walk away toward the buffet, Serena suddenly stood up, quickly grabbing her own plate as well. "I will too, actually. I'll be just a minute." She quickly walked off after Misty, hoping that the others at the table couldn't see how full her plate was. Unfortunately for her, all three of them noticed.

Ash turned in his seat, watching her walk off. "She's not actually getting more food, is she?"

"I doubt it," Iris answered. "She wants to talk to Misty about something, I'm guessing."

"Yeah, but about what?"

"Probably you," Brock suggested.

"Definitely you," Iris reaffirmed, reaching out and grabbing another piece of fried calamari from a basket on the table. Ash kept watching Serena as she caught up to Misty, not sure he liked the sound of that.

Over at the buffet table, Misty reached out for a pair of tongs, ready to fill her plate up again. She turned her head as she noticed someone taking a position right next to her, seeing Serena halfheartedly scanning the selection.

She smirked a bit, glancing down at Serena's mostly full plate. "Going for more, huh?"

"Ah… yeah, just a little." Serena quickly grabbed the first thing she saw in front of her, a bit embarrassed that her cover story seemed to have fooled nobody. "I was kind of wondering, actually…"

"Hm?"

"Well… earlier today, while you were training with Ash, you were so…" Serena took a moment to find the right word. "Different, from now. You were…"

Misty grinned, knowing what she was getting at and how much trouble she was having getting there. "I was tearing him apart?"

Serena sighed in relief. "Yes, that. And now you're being as friendly and kind as anyone. Was all that just an act, or…"

Misty shook her head. "No, that's not an act." She reached out and grabbed some more food, placing it on her plate. "That's just me when I'm upset at someone. I don't like to mince words. And I was pretty peeved at him for blowing his Gym Battle like I was told he did."

"I see…" Serena nodded. "Ash didn't seem very hurt by it when I talked to him. Or surprised."

"Oh, Ash knows exactly who I am." Misty moved along the buffet line, and Serena followed. "He knows I know how to get through to him. He just needs some tough love sometimes."

Serena nodded, her mind bringing her back to her first journey through Kalos, where she had pelted Ash with snowballs to try and get him out of his funk after a bad loss. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

"Do you?" Misty turned back toward her, eyebrows raised, intrigued by this comment. "How long have you been traveling with him?"

"Oh, well…" Serena looked down, flushing a little, realizing she'd given herself away. "Right now, it's only been a few weeks, but years ago we were traveling together for a while… we were each doing different things, but…"

Misty watched Serena's face as she recounted her original adventures with Ash, seeing her sheepish expression, and the light blush that appeared in her cheeks. Her eyes widened as she managed to put the pieces together. "Wait… are you two…"

Serena's blush deepened, but a smile started spreading across her face as well. "We… might be? We haven't really talked about it yet…"

"Oh wow…" Misty muttered, practically stunned, her mind having trouble with the idea of Ash being with anyone, let alone the attractive girl she was talking to now. "Ash is really punching above his weight, huh?"

Serena's eyebrows shot upward at this comment. "Wha… no, he's not!" She quickly turned back toward Misty, shocked to hear her say something like this about Ash.

Misty's expression quickly turned to surprise, then guilt, as she realized that she had accidentally spoken her inner thoughts out loud. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that…"

"I thought you two were friends?"

"We are, really!" Misty held up her hands reflexively. "He's one of my best friends, honest. It's just…" She sighed, lowering her hands and looking down, turning away a bit, clearly chastened. "Ash was a different person when I knew him, I guess. He was kind of immature… lazy… he didn't think things through very often. It's hard for me not to think of him that way."

Serena calmed herself a bit, still defensive, but a little more understanding. "Well, he's changed a lot since then, clearly."

"I'm sure he has," Misty responded. "But still, whenever I think about him, I can't help but think of that hopeless dork from Pallet Town who destroyed my bike."

Serena blinked. "Wait, he did what?"

"It's a long story." Misty looked back upward. "But he's also selfless… brave… always does the right thing… he has the biggest heart of anyone I've ever met." She turned back toward Serena, smiling now. "If he treats you half as well as he treats his Pokémon, I think you'll be really happy."

Serena smiled back warmly, no longer upset, glad to hear such kind words and feeling like she understood their relationship a bit better. "I hope so."

The two of them continued talking, starting to share stories about Ash, as they made their way back to the table, where he was waiting nervously.

* * *

The following morning, Ash, Serena, Iris and Brock found themselves sitting in the middle of a large audience, with Pikachu and Axew seated on their respective trainers' laps, all of them waiting for the Water Festival to begin. All of them were indoors, in a large open venue with a giant pool in the center, clearly designed for water-based performances; an enormous bay window gave a clear view of the harbor outside. Six raised platforms were lining either side of the pool, each one about twenty feet in the air at their tallest; from the looks of them, they had been built recently and were not normally part of the building.

The crowd mumbled to itself, waiting for the festivities to begin, when the sound of orchestral music suddenly rent the air, causing half the crowd to fall silent and the other half to cheer. As a brash and energetic piece began to play, the sound of churning machinery could be heard from the raised platforms. Seconds later, a trainer slowly began to emerge from each one, rising up from a hole in the bottom. Soon, six trainers were standing tall above the crowd, all of them male, and all of them dressed to swim.

Ash grinned wide as he looked from one trainer to the next, wondering if there were any that he knew. He quickly recognized the masked and heavyset Crasher Wake, who was the leader of the Pastoria City Gym in Sinnoh. Seconds later, he also spotted the former Hoenn League champion, Wallace, standing tall above many of the others trainers; judging from the cheers and delighted shrieks from the audience, Ash was not the only one to recognize him. After a bit of prolonged applause, the audience collectively turned its attention back toward ground level, where Siebold was standing on the opposite end of the pool, holding a microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming to the opening festivities of the third annual Shalour City Water Festival!" he announced, more excited and energetic than Ash had heard him yet. "This is always my favorite event of the year, and what better way to kick it off than with a stunning group performance from the most talented Water-type trainers?"

The crowd cheered once again, excited, as the six featured trainers reached for Poké Balls attached to their belts and brought out two Water-type Pokémon each, of all different shapes and sizes. Seconds later, all six trainers dove into the water, their Pokémon following behind them.

"Now that you've seen our dashing men, let's bring out our lovely ladies as well!" Siebold announced, as the machinery in the platforms began to whir once again. As six more swimsuit-clad trainers emerged, Ash and his friends quickly spotted Misty on the farthest platform on the left, and began to cheer raucously for her; they could see her smiling wide as the cheers hit her ears, but she kept her gaze forward in a professional manner. Looking around quickly, Ash was also able to spot Cissy, a Gym Leader from the Orange Islands, as well as Maya, the Sea Priestess from the Johto region.

Just like their male counterparts, each of the trainers retrieved two Poké Balls attached to their suits and brought out two Pokémon each. Misty had summoned Staryu and Starmie, two of her most elegant Pokémon, and she grinned and watched them as they flew around her in circles for a moment. After a moment, all six of them dove gracefully into the pool with their Pokémon, forming a circle with the men when they emerged.

The orchestral music swelled as the performance began, with the trainers swimming gracefully through the water, as their Pokémon either swam with them, flew through the air, or caused the water around them to churn, rise and dance. As all twelve dancers posed around an impromptu yet intricate fountain that the Pokémon had created, the crowd burst into applause once again. Ash quickly glanced over at his friends, wanting to make sure they were enjoying themselves. All of them seemed enraptured, amazed by the performance happening in front of them; Serena looked both delighted and contemplative, wondering if there was some way to incorporate anything like this into her own routines.

Moments later, the music changed to something a bit more subdued and legato, as the trainers and all their Pokémon disappeared under the water, preparing for the next part of the performance. As they swam, the audience watched as a thick, enormous pane of glass slowly slid out from the ground, eventually covering the entire pool from corner to corner. They started to murmur, curious, wondering how in the world this glass pane factored into the show.

Looking deeper into the pool, Ash watched as the trainers started to swim upward once again, one at a time, with Wallace leading the charge. As he reached the surface, a loud crack rang out through the venue as his head bashed painfully into the glass; this was quickly followed by three more cracks, as the next three trainers also slammed their heads into the glass pane. The audience gasped at this, murmuring more loudly, starting to realize that this was not part of the performance.

As Siebold ran back out toward the pool, yelling in confusion, Misty and the other trainers started pounding their fists against the glass, trying somehow to move or dislodge it. They had their heads tilted at unnatural angles, as they tried to breathe in the very thin layer of air between the glass and the surface of the water. They looked out toward the ceiling, or the audience, or Siebold, hoping that someone knew what was going on, or how to fix whatever had happened. None of them noticed the long, wide, snake-like tubes that were emerging from the sides of the pool, winding their way toward their Pokémon, who were also starting to beat against the glass.

As Siebold tried to petition the audience to not panic, the strange tubes started making a muffled but high-pitched whirring sound, not unlike the sound of a vacuum cleaner. They began sucking up the Pokémon in the water, swallowing them up one by one, each Pokémon fighting fruitlessly against the suction before disappearing into the tubes. The trainers all yelped as the tubes worked, some of them fighting to keep their Pokémon from being sucked in, while others had to struggle to not be caught up in the tubes themselves, or to keep their swimsuits on.

Less than ten seconds later, all of the Pokémon in the pool had been consumed by the tubes, which retracted back into the walls. The audience was on its feet now, clearly panicked, some of them running closer to the pool, while others made for the exit. Ash sprinted down to the edge of the water as fast as he safely could, followed quickly by Serena, Iris and Brock.

"We need to get them out of there!" he exclaimed, racking his brain as he kneeled down at the edge of the pool. "Should we just smash through the glass?" Pikachu hopped off his shoulder and stood at the pool's edge as well, worried and not sure what to do.

"We can't do that!" Serena answered. "We would just fill the pool with broken glass! They'd be cut to ribbons!"

"Guys, stand back!" Iris stepped forward, reaching for one of her Poké Balls, as the others backed away quickly. She tossed it in front of her, and everyone watched as Excadrill emerged, a little confused as to his surroundings.

"Excadrill, use your head to carve out a hole in the glass! Be careful, don't break it!" Excadrill nodded, kneeling at the edge of the pool and touching the metal tip of the blade on his forehead to the glass, starting to carve out a semicircle. The four friends watched as he worked carefully; with as thick as the glass was, it would take several minutes for him to carve out an escape route.

"Why is this happening?" Serena wondered aloud, worried, watching the trainers swim around under the glass, trying to find some way out. "Who could have possibly rigged the venue like this?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Brock responded, anger evident in his voice. "Who would go to this much trouble to steal Pokémon?"

Ash began to answer, but he stopped when the already-loud audience let out a collective gasp, as they looked out the enormous bay window. He looked outside, eyes going wide as he saw a large, metallic airship emerging from the bay, a number of propellers and jets pushing it upward. As it turned itself toward the open ocean, they could all see a transparent tank on the back, filled with both water and the Pokémon they had just stolen from the trainers. Soon after, their eyes were drawn to a large red R painted on the side.

"Argh! Team Rocket, again!" Ash gritted his teeth. "I don't believe this! Why can't they just leave us all alone?!"

"They're going to fly away with all the Pokémon!" Brock stepped closer to the edge of the pool, as if he might be able to reach out and grab the airship if he were one foot closer. "We have to get up to that airship, somehow!"

"I have Dragonite and Altaria with me!" Iris glanced down at the Poké Balls on her hip. "Two of us could get up there, but I don't think all four of us can…"

"You two go!" Serena replied, glancing toward Ash and Iris. "You have the strongest Pokémon among us. Brock and I will stay here with Excadrill and the others."

"Got it. Thanks, Serena." Ash nodded at her before turning toward the exit, Pikachu quickly climbing up his side; Iris followed him after handing Axew over to Brock for safekeeping. Running outside as quickly as they could, it took them a couple of minutes to get on the other side of the building. By that time, the airship had fully emerged from the water and was starting to fly away, albeit at a slow pace.

"Dragonite, Altaria, let's go!" Iris called out, tossing out their Poké Balls and summoning both Pokémon. "Get us onto that airship!" She leaped up onto Dragonite's back, arms wrapped lightly around his neck, as Ash and Pikachu climbed carefully onto Altaria. The two Pokémon quickly took off, flying the pair closer to the airship as it retreated.

Ash and Iris watched the vehicle carefully as they approached, worried that some sort of defense system might be in place. Sure enough, after a few seconds, four snake-like, metallic arms emerged from the ship's hull, each one brandishing an air bazooka like they had seen before. The trainers gripped their Pokémon carefully, ready to evade at a moment's notice, but all four of the arms started firing air blasts forward instead. Leaning in a bit, Ash was able to see a handful of Ace Patrol members near the front of the ship, dodging the air blasts and trying to use their Pokémon to disable the ship's propellers, to no avail. Seeing their opportunity to get on board, Ash and Iris flew right up against the main body of the airship, finding a large door right on the side.

"Altaria, freeze the door!" Iris called out, yelling as loud as she could in order to be heard over the din of the propellers. "Dragonite, bust it open with Dragon Pulse!"

Altaria cawed in response, inhaling a deep breath before expelling an icy mist from its mouth directly at the door, freezing its hinges. Dragonite followed up by firing off a Dragon Pulse, which slammed into the door and shattered the hinges, blasting it off the side of the ship entirely; Dragonite and Altaria had to quickly move out of the way to avoid it. Once the way was clear, the two trainers flew closer, carefully boarding the airship one at a time.

"Altaria, stay outside and stay close, in case we need to make a quick exit," Iris commanded, bringing Dragonite back to his Poké Ball. Altaria cawed affirmatively, as the two teenagers ran further inside.

* * *

In the cockpit of the airship, two adult trainers were watching with amusement as the Ace Patrol tried and failed to stop their escape. They all had their own Flying-type Pokémon out, and were attempting over and over to perform some high-damage moves, but the air cannons were keeping all of them on their toes, never giving them enough time to do what they needed to do.

"And to think I was worried about these guys." One of the trainers, a tall, green-haired man clad in black, watched as one of the Ace Patrol members was blasted away for the fifth time. "They're just flying around helplessly like a bunch of idiots."

"They should have known better than to tangle with us," spoke the other, a slightly shorter woman with golden hair, which was tied back into two long pigtails. "We're twice as clever as the other idiots that have been sent to Kalos."

"You think we should do something about those two kids who got on board?"

"Don't worry about that," the woman responded. "I've locked all the doors except for the ones that lead to us. They'll be coming this way any second now. Then we'll get to show them what's what." Less than thirty seconds later, the two heard a pair of footsteps approaching from behind, and the woman smirked. "Right on cue…"

Moments later, Ash and Iris finally made their way into the cockpit. Their eyes quickly homed in on the two figures standing at the controls, and Ash began to speak almost reflexively, in a commanding voice.

"Alright, you two…" He cut himself off as his brain properly processed the pair of trainers he was looking at, realizing that they weren't who he was expecting. His eyes widened as the two turned around, both of them grinning as they saw the confusion on his face.

"What, were you expecting someone else?" the woman asked.

"It's… you two?!" he exclaimed, recognizing them after a second. "Cassidy and Hutch?!"

The man growled, instantly becoming irritated. "It's Butch, you little brat! You've had enough practice saying it by now!"

"Ash, who are these guys?" Iris asked, her eyes darting back and forth between Ash and the foes in front of her. "Are they with Team Rocket, too?"

"Yeah, they are, but what are they doing here?" Ash stepped forward. "What about Jessie and James? Are they part of this whole heist, too?"

Cassidy laughed, more than eager to break the news that Ash clearly hadn't heard. "You'd rather be dealing with those losers, huh? Well, too bad. They haven't been a part of Team Rocket in years!"

"What?!" Ash and Iris exclaimed in unison, eyes wide. "But…"

Butch chuckled. "They finally got the boot after screwing things up for the thousandth time. The boss decided he'd rather send someone competent to Kalos, so here we are."

Ash gritted his teeth, reaching for one of the Poké Balls at his side. "Well, I don't care who he sends out! Nobody's getting away with these Pokémon!" Iris did the same, pressing the button on the front of her ball to enlarge it.

"You can try to stop us if you want," Cassidy replied, reaching down and grabbing two Poké Balls from her belt. "But don't expect a fair fight!" She tossed both balls in front of her, releasing a growling, canine Houndoom and a tall, orange Charizard. Butch did the same, bringing out the wolf-like Mightyena and an enormous, armored Aggron, which nearly tilted the airship off course as its massive frame began to weigh on it.

Both Ash and Iris took a reflexive step back, not having expected so many powerful Pokémon. After taking a second to steel themselves, Ash threw his own Poké Ball into the cockpit, summoning Snivy into the arena. Iris tossed out two of her own, bringing out her Dragonite, as well as the tall, black-and-red Garchomp.

Butch laughed. "That's the best you've got, huh? This won't take long." He stepped forward, pointing dramatically at the teenagers' Pokémon. "Aggron, Mightyena, attack!"

All four trainers took several steps back, as the cockpit became the scene of an all-out brawl. The seven Pokémon all dashed into each other at once, hitting with as much force as they could, their trainers trying to end the battle as quickly and decisively as possible. Despite the strength and skill of Ash and Iris's Pokémon, however, they didn't stand much of a chance when outnumbered by equally powerful foes.

Mightyena was the first to go down, felled by Snivy and Garchomp working together, but a powerful Flamethrower attack from Charizard took Snivy out almost immediately afterward. Soon after that, Dragonite went all in on a Hyper Beam attack that knocked out Charizard, and nearly took out the cockpit's control panel as well. The blast left him too drained to continue defending himself, however, and Aggron made quick work of Dragonite with a flurry of physical attacks. Iris's Garchomp stood no chance against the combined might of Houndoom and Aggron, and it wasn't long before he was knocked out as well.

Butch and Cassidy grinned wide, highly pleased with themselves, as Ash and Iris returned all of their Pokémon to their Poké Balls. Aggron and Houndoom were both somewhat winded, but still capable of battling, and certainly capable of inflicting some punishment on the two trainers standing before them.

"You thought you two and your puny assault would be enough to take us down, hm?" Cassidy taunted. "You should have stayed back down on the ground. You're not going to like what happens next."

She stepped a bit closer, trying to be menacing and wanting to get a glimpse of the fear on their faces. She paused, eyebrows raising, when she saw the expressions that they were wearing. Neither of them looked very surprised by their loss; it almost seemed as if they were pleased by what had just happened.

"What… what are you two being so smug about?" There was both confusion and concern in her voice as she spoke.

Ash smirked at her as he put his Poké Ball away. "It's because we're not the assault."

"Huh?" Butch took a few paces forward, equally confused.

Iris grinned wide, pleased to see the tables being turned. "We're the distraction."

Cassidy's eyes shot open wide, trying to figure out what these two could have been distracting them from. It was then that she noticed for the first time that something was missing, as she looked over the two trainers, Ash in particular.

"Wait… where's your Pikachu?!"

Moments later, as if to answer her question, a loud explosion rang out from elsewhere in the ship, close to one of the propellers. The entire airship began to tilt to one side, pitching forward slightly, aiming itself toward the bay.

"Gah! What's going on?! What did you do?!" Butch demanded, before turning back toward the control console. As he tried desperately to correct the ship's course, the sound of crunching metal could be heard above them, just as the ceiling of the cockpit collapsed. Everyone jumped backward to avoid the falling debris, watching as pieces of the ceiling fell down and hit the floor, followed by an oil-stained Pikachu, who landed painfully on his back.

"You little…!" Cassidy clenched her fists, turning toward her Houndoom. "Get that miserable little rat! Fire Fang, now!"

"Pikachu! Use Thunder Bolt!" Ash shot back. Pikachu quickly turned around and got to his feet, letting out a loud cry as his electricity shocked both Aggron and Houndoom, as well as Butch and Cassidy, knocking them all off their feet.

"Happy landings, guys!" Iris taunted, as she started to run away, back toward the door where they had broken in. Ash quickly scooped up Pikachu and followed her, running past an air vent that the two of them had pried open to get Pikachu further inside the airship. Cassidy started to run after them, but another explosion tilted the airship once again, knocking her off balance and slamming her into a wall. Groaning, she stood back up and ran back to the console, working with Butch in a futile effort to get the vessel back on course.

It wasn't long before Ash and Iris were back at the door they had forced open, and Iris stuck her head outside, putting two fingers in her mouth and whistling for Altaria to return. The bird Pokémon approached seconds later, flying close to the door and holding herself in place. Iris quickly jumped out the door and onto Altaria's back, before turning toward Ash and motioning for him to do the same.

Pikachu leaped out first, grabbing onto the fluffy white feathers that surrounded Altaria's body before scrambling into a better position. Ash grabbed onto the doorframe, taking note of the space left on Iris's Pokémon and getting ready to jump. Just before he leaped, however, the airship lurched once again, and he ended up tumbling out of the doorway instead.

"No! Ash!" Iris cried out, reaching out and firmly grabbing one of his hands with both of hers, stopping his fall; Altaria squawked and flapped wildly, trying to right herself as Ash threatened to pull her down. Iris strained to pull Ash up, trying to grab at his wrist, but his hand was now covered in some of the oil that was on Pikachu's fur, and it was hard to keep a tight grip. He quickly slipped out of her grasp, and he began to plummet toward the water hundreds of feet below.

Ash looked upward as Iris and Altaria as he fell, able to hear her shriek as she lost her grip on him. She quickly tried to steer downward, hoping in vain that she could catch him a second time, but there was no way Altaria could catch up in the short amount of time before he painfully hit the water. As his mind ran through the zero options he had to save himself, he felt the wind being knocked out of him as he landed on something large and scaly, rolling down its long body until he came to rest in a U-shaped bend. He quickly wrapped his arms around its body, not caring what it was, before looking up and finding himself on the back of a Gyarados. He looked around for a moment before glancing back down toward the ground, where he could see Misty running along the shore, looking relieved as her gaze met his. He grinned wide and waved to her, calling out a "thank you" that he knew she couldn't hear, as Serena and Brock started catching up to her.

With Ash safe and sound on Gyarados's back, everyone turned their attention toward the airship, which was now doomed to crash into the bay. Another explosion, close to the rear of the ship, finally managed to crack the large water tank on the rear, and water and Pokémon started to spill out of it, falling toward the bay at an alarming speed. Despite all of them being Water-types, they were certain to have a painful landing as they hit the surface of the water.

"Gyarados, use Waterfall!" Ash heard Misty shouting at the top of her lungs. Her Pokémon roared and surged forward, eyes glowing as Ash clung on for dear life, and a pillar of water shot out of the ocean, directly underneath the formerly captive Pokémon. Each one landed in the rising water, swimming down through the pillar and safely into the ocean waters below, as Ash breathed a sigh of relief.

As everyone watched the last Pokémon make its way out of the tank and down to safety, a large projectile suddenly shot forward out of the front of the airship. It hit the surface of the water and sped along the top of it for a few seconds, just long enough for Ash to recognize it as some sort of submarine, before it disappeared underwater and out of sight. He frowned, realizing that it must have been Butch and Cassidy making their escape; he was hoping he wouldn't have to deal with them again, but he was certain now that he would, knowing his rotten luck.

With its captains gone, the airship finally crashed into the water, sending a fairly tall wave out in all directions, which slammed into the shores of Shalour City and splashed the hundreds of people who had come to watch the action unfold. The flying members of the Ace Patrol hovered around the vessel as it began to sink into the water, no longer appearing to pose any sort of danger, but definitely posing a large mess that the city was going to have to clean up eventually.

With the danger finally passed, Misty's Gyarados flew back down toward the shore, alongside a very relieved Iris and her Altaria. The Pokémon hovered a few feet off the ground, letting Ash slide off and onto his feet again. As soon as he landed, he was assaulted by a pair of arms and a shock of honey-blonde hair, nearly knocking him off his feet again.

"Don't you scare me like that!" Serena scolded, holding him as tightly as she could, her angry tone cut by the clear relief in her voice. "I thought you were done for!"

"Sorry, sorry…" he replied, holding her gently but awkwardly, trying not to touch her and get oil on her dress. "I'm fine, Serena, I promise."

"Of course you are," Misty followed up, both relieved and exasperated as she returned Gyarados to his Poké Ball. "The only thing stranger than how you keep getting into trouble is how you keep getting away without a scratch." She sighed, smiling as her Staryu and Starmie flew over to her, and she reached out and held both of them to her happily. "Still, thank you for saving all those Pokémon. You too, Iris."

"Of course," Iris responded, accepting her Axew back from Brock and holding him tightly to her, Pikachu resting on her shoulder and waiting for his opportunity to rejoin Ash. "We've never let those jerks ruin our journey before, and we're not going to start now."

"You'd think they would learn to leave us alone by now," Brock grumbled. "I guess they wouldn't be Jessie and James if they were able to learn from their failures."

"That's just it, though!" Ash exclaimed, as Serena finally let him go and stepped back. "It wasn't Jessie and James this time! It was Butch and Cassidy!"

"What?! Are you kidding?!" Misty exclaimed. "They're here, too? We have to deal with two Team Rockets now?"

"Wait, what?" Serena responded, confused, looking back and forth between Ash and Misty. "Who are they? What's going on?"

Ash sighed and began to explain what had happened in the airship, Pikachu climbing up into his arms, as all of them started walking back indoors. As they walked, a number of police boats zoomed out toward the slowly sinking airship, the officers wondering how in the world they were going to get this giant hunk of metal out of the bay.

* * *

Later that afternoon, the whole group was standing at the edge of town, with everyone but Misty set to depart. The city was still abuzz with the events of the day, with hundreds of residents and tourists sitting and watching as Team Rocket's ship was slowly towed back toward land.

"I'd love to keep traveling with you guys, but I'm still needed here for the Water Festival," Misty explained. "The opening ceremonies are cancelled, but everything else is still on. Plus, I'll have to get back to my gym before too long."

Brock nodded. "Makes sense. Still, it was great to see you again. I'll have to stop by the next time I'm back in Kanto."

"You had better," she replied, grinning at him. "So where are you guys going next?"

"Our next stop is in Brackish Town," Serena answered. "There's going to be a showcase there."

"Brackish Town… that means you'll have to travel through the Reflection Cave, right?" Misty responded. "Be careful in there. I hear the Reflection Cave is in a 'bad mood' these days, whatever that means."

"Huh." Ash raised an eyebrow curiously. "Well, we'll be careful, I promise. I'm not going to let some dumb cave stop me before I can enter the Kalos League."

"I hope not." Misty smiled and stepped forward, shaking Serena's hand, then Iris's. "It was great to meet you both. Take care of the boys for me, okay?"

Iris grinned. "We'll try."

Misty smirked before turning toward Brock, standing on her toes and embracing him tightly, as he hugged her back. "Let me know the next time you're in town, Brock."

"I will, don't worry."

She smiled as she let him go, turning toward Ash, yelping a bit as Pikachu leaped into her arms. She laughed as he sat up and licked the tip of her nose affectionately, holding him close. "I'll miss you too, Pikachu. Keep taking care of Ash."

Pikachu nodded affirmatively, turning and climbing back onto his trainer's shoulder, as Misty turned her attention toward Ash. "You better not screw up any more Gym Battles, Ash. I can only bail you out so many times."

"You won't have to do it again, Misty. Those remaining badges are as good as mine." He grinned at her, thankful for all her help. "Are you going to be at the Kalos League?"

She smirked back. "Am I going to have someone there to cheer for?"

"Of course you will!" he answered confidently. "Nothing's going to stop me from winning it all this time."

"Well then, I'll see you there." She smiled wide, stepping forward and hugging him tightly, just as she had Brock. He smiled back, holding her as well, glad to know that the two of them were still as close as they had always been. Just as he started to relax a bit, however, he heard her voice in his ear, quiet but menacing.

"Mess things up with Serena, and I'll come back and kick your butt twice as hard, got it?"

He blinked in surprise, the smile disappearing from his face as she stepped away, smiling warmly at him, as if she hadn't said anything at all.

"Bye, guys!" she exclaimed, waving at them. "Have a great journey!"

Ash took a second to regain his composure, but he was soon smiling back at her. "Bye, Misty! Thanks again!" Everyone else said their goodbyes as well, before turning and starting their walk along Route 11.

"I was skeptical about her at first, but she turned out to be really great," Serena spoke, smiling toward Ash. "I can see why you're such good friends."

"She's a great traveling companion to have," Brock responded. "When we were journeying through Kanto, she helped keep us on track and out of trouble, more than I'd like to admit."

"Really?" Iris spoke up, curious. "What was she like? What sort of stuff did you all do?"

"Hm." Ash rubbed his chin, thinking to himself. "I mean, we did a lot of stuff… there's a lot to talk about."

Serena smirked deviously. "Maybe you can tell us about how you destroyed her bike."

Ash froze, caught completely off guard. "Wh… what? How did you…"

"Wait, what?" Iris grinned wide, her eyes lighting up, hearing the potential for a very entertaining and embarrassing story. "This I have to hear about!"

"It's… it was…" Ash stumbled over his words, his face turning red. "Look, ask Brock. He can tell you about it."

Brock grinned, not about to let Ash off the hook. "I don't know about that. I only heard about it after the fact. You would tell the story way better than I could."

"Well, Ash?" Serena grinned wide, leaning in closer as she walked next to him. "Go ahead. We're waiting."

"No! You can't make me!" he cried out, starting to run ahead of them, as if he could somehow escape his embarrassing past.

Serena laughed. "Ash, get back here!" All of his friends started chasing after him, as they made their way down the road together.


	17. The Self-Reflection Cave!

"Alright, Cyllage City Gym…" Ash muttered to himself as he fiddled with his phone. He and his friends had been traveling down Route 11 for an hour or so, and after relating the embarrassing tale of how he and Pikachu had accidentally destroyed Misty's bicycle, he had taken advantage of a lull in the conversation to do some research. He had no intention of being caught off-guard again, as he had been in Shalour City.

"Here it is," he announced as he found the information he was looking for. "It looks like… good, Grant is still the Gym Leader. And he's still using Rock-type Pokémon."

"That's good to know," Serena commented, glancing over at him. "Do you know what your strategy is going to be?"

"Not yet," he responded absentmindedly, continuing to look over the information his phone was showing him.

"You should start thinking about it now," Iris recommended. "Snivy's your only real type-advantage Pokémon. Both Skorupi and Pikachu are going to have some trouble." Pikachu glanced back at her from Ash's shoulder, trying to appear indignant even as his ears lowered in shame, knowing she was right.

"Yeah… might have to catch something new… s'been a while…" Ash muttered in response, as he continued to read, before something on the page caught his eye. "Wait, what's this? 'Aspiring Kalos League trainers should check in at the Cyllage City Pokémon Center for their Gym Battle.' What's that mean?"

"The Pokémon Center?" Brock wondered aloud. "Why would you check in there? You should be able to just do that at the gym when you arrive. That's how it always works."

Ash scrolled frantically through the page for more information, to no avail. "It doesn't say." He sighed as he put his phone away, already feeling a bit nervous about what they might find when they arrived. "Why can't these Gym Battles just go normally for me?"

"Well, at least you know what kind of battle you're going to have," Iris offered. "Just do the best you can to prepare, and we'll figure out what's going on when we get there."

"Yeah…" Ash took in a breath and exhaled it slowly, trying to clear the doubt from his mind. "Yeah, you're right. So long as I can get that badge, there's nothing to worry about, right?"

"That's right." Serena smiled at him and nodded, before taking a quick look around at her surroundings, not having been on Route 11 in a few years. After taking in the sight of a small, grassy hill, her eyebrows raised as she suddenly realized where they were, and she took a step off the path, to the left.

"Hey, guys!" She turned around, glancing back at her companions. "Follow me for a second! You'll want to see this!"

Ash, Iris and Brock all turned and followed her, curious as to what she was going to show them, as she led them all up the hill she had spotted. Once they reached the top, their eyes nearly bugged out as they took in the sight of a long, enormous depression in the earth, a giant, grass-covered canyon that stretched out as far as their eyes could see in either direction.

"What the… what on Earth is that?!" Ash asked, surprise and wonder in his voice.

"This is the Vein," Serena answered. "This is what collapsed three years ago. This entire thing."

"You're kidding me!" Brock exclaimed, leaning forward for a slightly better look. "This is enormous! I can barely even see the bottom, let alone the ends!"

"How was this even possible?" Iris wondered, in awe of the sheer size of it in all directions; the vein was hundreds of feet deep, in addition to being hundreds of feet across and miles long. "Was this really just one enormous mine? Who even made this?"

"That's our best guess, and we don't really know." Serena took in the sight herself for a moment, not having seen it in ages, before pointing to one part of the canyon. "Over there, look. You can see some old wooden structures from before it collapsed. I have no idea how they didn't break…"

"Amazing…" Ash muttered quietly, trying to imagine what it must have been like when this whole thing came down. He could imagine the incredible sound, and the Earth shaking under his feet. "No wonder they haven't been able to fix it yet. I can't imagine them ever fixing something like this."

"Me neither," Brock added.

"Yeah… they probably never will, honestly." Serena frowned. "They might try to fix up Route 13 so people can travel on it again, but that's probably it. This is just going to be the newest part of the Kalos landscape, I guess."

The four of them continued to look on for a while, before deciding they needed to move on. They turned and started walking back down the hill toward Route 11, with Ash giving the vein one last look back. As he took in the sight, he did a double-take and turned around, something strange catching his eye.

"What is it, Ash?" Iris asked, stopping and turning back toward him.

"I thought I saw something…" He looked carefully over the canyon again, trying to get another glimpse of what he thought had been a mysterious figure in white. After a quick but fruitless search, he shrugged his shoulders. "Might have just been my eyes playing tricks on me." He turned back and walked with the others down to Route 11, as they resumed their journey.

* * *

Hours later, the foursome found themselves in front of the mountains that cut through the middle of Route 11, just as the sun was starting to set. They stood at the entrance to the Reflection Cave, which ran through the mountain and connected the two halves of Route 11; looking inside, they were able to see the numerous crystals and mirror-polished surfaces that reflected the light of the setting sun.

"So this is the cave that's in a bad mood, huh?" Brock wondered aloud, still not sure what such a comment was supposed to mean. "Is it going to eat us alive if we make it mad or something?"

"Hopefully not," Serena replied, stepping inside. "It doesn't take very long to get through, but we should probably hurry anyway. It wouldn't be good for us to get lost in here when it gets really dark."

"Well, it can't get too dark in here, can it?" Iris asked as she followed Serena into the cave. She pointed near the ceiling, where a rudimentary set of lights could be seen shining weakly.

"Oh!" Serena followed her finger upward, surprised to see the lights. "Well, that's a bit of a relief. Those weren't here when Ash and I traveled through the cave."

Ash and Brock followed the girls in, as everyone took a minute to look around, admiring the natural beauty of the cave. The crystals hanging from the ceiling and jutting out from the floor shined with the refracted light of the sun, and the walls were as smooth and reflective as any mirror; the teenagers could clearly see their own reflections in them.

"This is incredible," Iris spoke in awe as she looked around. "It's beautiful in here. Is this all natural?"

"Yes, I think so," Serena confirmed, leading the way deeper into the cave.

"That's amazing. I don't know how the walls get so smooth on their own." Iris walked up toward one particularly reflective wall, curiously reaching out to touch it. Ash turned to see her walking over, hand outstretched, and his eyes went wide.

"No, don't!" He raced over to her as quickly as he could, grabbing her wrist and pulling it away, causing her to yelp. "Be careful! Don't touch the walls!"

"Why not?" She pulled her wrist out of his grasp, noticing the panic in his expression. "What's the problem?"

"It's…" He tried to think of some way to explain what had happened to him on his first trip through the Reflection Cave, five years ago. In the end, he didn't know how to explain his strange trip into a mirror dimension without sounding crazy. "Just… trust me. You don't want to get too close."

Iris looked back at him, concerned and confused, before looking toward Serena for some sort of confirmation that he was right, or that he was completely out of his mind. She nodded back at her. "He's right. This cave is… it's a strange place. It's not what it seems."

"Al… alright, if you're sure…" She stepped warily away from the wall, walking backward for a few paces and jumping when she backed into a crystal. She quickly started following Serena, nervous, not sure she wanted to know what made the cave so strange.

The group walked through the cave in relative silence, following the string of lights overhead, in order to keep themselves from traveling down the wrong path and getting lost. Iris and Brock ended up hanging back a bit, walking more slowly as they took in the sights of the cave, still somewhat mesmerized by its beauty. Pikachu eventually hopped off Ash's shoulder and started traveling on foot, looking a bit more closely at the reflective walls, wondering if he was going to see anything strange but familiar on the other side.

With nobody else in the cave, and many of the local Pokémon having gone to sleep, the only sounds to be heard were the echoes of their footsteps, ringing out through the cave as if they were coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once. Eventually, Brock broke the silence, unable to keep his thoughts to himself any longer.

"What's gotten you two so nervous?" he asked, causing both Ash and Serena to turn around. "You both look like you expect the boogeyman to jump out at any minute. What do you know about this cave that we don't?"

Ash and Serena glanced at each other, biting their lips, not sure where to start explaining. Before either of them had a chance, however, the lights above them started to flicker, before they all went out at once, stranding everyone in near-complete darkness.

Serena bit off a shriek as everything went black in front of her. "What happened?! Why did the lights go out?!"

"I don't know!" Iris exclaimed, her words echoing around the walls of the cave, the sound surrounding all of them. "I can't see a thing! I can't even see my hand in front of my face!"

"Me neither." Ash reached into his pocket for his phone, trying to power it on to get some light, but the device wouldn't respond to him pressing the power button. He groaned as he slid it back into his pocket; with all of the research he was doing earlier in the day, he must have drained the battery. Iris started to reach for her phone, before Serena's voice stopped her.

"Hold on, guys. I think I can see a tiny bit of light in this direction. It might be the way out." The sound of her footsteps started to echo through the cave once again. "Follow me, guys. I think I can lead us out of here."

Ash nodded and began following her as best he could, walking forward through the cave, trying not to run into any crystals on his way. He listened carefully to the sound of Serena's footsteps, trying to pick them out among all the others and walking determinedly forward after them. After several minutes, his eyes started to just barely adjust to the lack of light, and he was able to make out where the walls of the cave were, at least. He sighed in relief.

"Finally, I can see where I'm going," he muttered to himself, just loud enough for anyone around him to hear. He waited for someone else to respond to him, but after ten seconds, nobody else had said anything.

He stopped walking for a moment. "Guys?" His voice traveled along the cave, echoing back to him over and over, but no other voices came with it. He quickly realized that the sounds of footsteps had stopped as well. His eyes widened as he looked around in the darkness, trying to make out the figures of his friends, or even his Pikachu. All he could see was the incredibly dim outline of himself, reflected in the cave walls; he couldn't even see the frustrated expression on his face.

"You've got to be kidding me…" He held his face in his hand for a moment, realizing what had happened. With no way to see Serena in front of him, he had tried to follow the sounds of her footsteps, but the echoes had ultimately led him down the wrong path. He stood quietly for a moment, berating himself in his mind, before sighing and continuing forward, not having any other recourse. If he tried to turn around and find where he had gotten lost, he was fairly certain he'd never find his way out.

After trudging forward bitterly for several more minutes, he was able to see a light ahead of him, which started illuminating the cave a little better. He sighed in relief and started walking faster, hoping that the light would lead him out of the cave. As he turned around one corner, he nearly gasped in surprise as he saw Serena walking ahead of him. He started running after her, immensely relieved.

"Serena! Thank goodness I found you!" he called out. "Do you know where the others are?" She jumped a bit at the sudden sound of his voice, turning around to face him. As her eyes met his, he could see her wrinkle her nose in disgust.

"Ugh, seriously?" she groused. "I was hoping we'd lost you back there."

Ash blinked and stopped running, not sure he had heard her correctly. "Lost me? What do you mean?"

"What do you think I mean?" she shot back, venom clear in her voice. "I was hoping you'd stay lost in the cave, and we could keep going without you."

"W… what?" He kept his eyes locked on hers, seeing a disdain in them that he'd never seen before. He could feel his stomach starting to turn, confused and a bit scared. "Serena, what are you saying…?"

She sighed and shook her head. "Ash… do you have any idea how much I thought about you over the past five years? Every time I was lonely or sad, I wished you were there by my side to make me feel better. Even when I was happy, I wanted you there to share it with me." She looked downward, the memories making her wistful. "You had been so strong and so brave during our journey, and every time I felt weak or afraid, I wanted you to be there for me. I missed you more than anything."

She looked back up at him, the wistfulness gone. "And now, five years later, I get to see who you've become, and I hate it. You're overconfident, pathetic and weak. You can't even get a simple Gym Badge without needing your friends to come and bail you out. You can't even begin to imagine how disappointed I was." Looking into her eyes, the disappointment and regret was so clear and so strong that it looked almost painful. "If I had known you would be here, I would have waited to come back to Kalos until you were gone. Anything to avoid seeing you like this."

Ash's mouth was agape as he listened to her words, each one feeling like a knife in his heart. He could almost feel his skin going cold as she started to turn away. "Don't follow me out of here, Ash. I don't need your dead weight holding me back when I'm trying to become Kalos Queen. We're through. Just go home."

"Se… Serena…" he finally managed as she started walking away, barely able to articulate his thoughts. "Why… would you… how could you…"

"Oh, come on!" He jumped as he heard another familiar voice behind him; he quickly whirled around, seeing Iris glaring at him angrily, with Brock standing beside her. "We finally got away from you, and here you are again. Just our luck."

"I guess he just can't take a hint," Brock added, wearing the disgusted expression of someone who had just stepped in something unpleasant. "I'm not surprised. He still can't figure out he's wasting his time trying to be a Pokémon Master. No wonder he can't figure out when other people don't want him around."

"Guys…" The sick feeling in Ash's stomach started to grow, and he felt his legs start to shake. Somehow he found the indignation and the wherewithal to say something in response. "Why are you saying this?! Why are you all acting like this?! I don't understand!"

Iris rolled her eyes. "Of course you don't understand. Clearly it takes a lot to get something through that thick skull of yours." She focused back on him, gesturing toward him with both hands. "Look at yourself, Ash. You've been trying and trying for five years, doing nothing but working on becoming a Pokémon Master, and are you any better off than when you started?" She folded her arms. "I sure don't see a Pokémon Master in training. All I see is a little kid, chasing a dream that he should have given up years ago."

"I hate to say it, but she's right. All this time since we first journeyed through Kanto, and you haven't grown at all, as a trainer or as a person." Brock looked more upset than outright angry, but no more sympathetic. "Really, it's your Pokémon I feel bad for. Imagine having to be shackled to someone like you. They all deserve better."

"I'd be more than happy to take Snivy off his hands," Serena suggested from behind him. "She's a natural performer. She'd be much happier traveling with me, I bet."

"Good idea," Brock responded, nodding. "Skorupi… maybe he should just be released back into the wild. I don't think any of us could really use him. And what about Pikachu?"

"Eh, let Ash keep Pikachu, I guess." Iris shrugged. "You'll never be able to separate those two. And Pikachu deserves a friend, at least. Even if it's him." She walked past Ash toward Serena, taking a wide arc around him, as if she might catch a disease if she got too close. "I'm pretty sure he's on the other side of the cave, if you can even find your way out."

Brock started following her, similarly staying away from Ash. "Let's just get going, guys. It's getting late. We don't have time to waste on him."

Ash watched the three of them as they walked away, trying to call out after them, to persuade them to stay and give him another chance. The words wouldn't form in his throat, however, no matter how hard he tried. It took all of his internal strength just to continue standing, as he watched his friends leave him behind, possibly forever. He watched their retreating backs, listening to their echoing footsteps as they gradually grew more and more faint.

"Don't tell me you're surprised, Ash." He whirled around again, eyes widening in shock as he saw Misty standing behind him, wearing her trademark glare. "After what I had to come in and do, who would want to keep traveling with you? I can't imagine how embarrassing that must be, to be seen with you after that. It's no wonder Serena left you behind. Why would she still want to be with you?"

"Wha… Misty? Why are you here…?" He stared in outright confusion, her presence entirely inexplicable. The only way she could have been here was if she had followed them all the way from Shalour City, and one of them would have definitely noticed her trailing behind them.

"Hah! Figures you'd end up abandoned like this, once people figured out what your deal is." Ash turned his head to see Gary Oak walk up next to Misty, smirking and looking quite pleased with this turn of events. "Once a loser, always a loser."

"You've got that right." He turned again, to see an irritated and impatient Dawn to his left. "After you got fourth in the Lily of the Valley Conference, I thought you'd be well on your way to masterhood by now. And instead, you're here. It's no wonder they all left you, especially Serena. She deserves better."

Ash didn't even have time to wonder why all these people were here before more of them began to show up. As he turned around, he saw countless faces of people he knew standing around him: May, Max, Paul, Ricky, Lillie, Tracey, Bianca and more. Almost everyone he had come to know over the course of his journeys was here, and all of them were talking about him, the disgust evident in her voices as they shared stories about how Ash had failed and disappointed them. The noise grew and gew, until he eventually had to cover his ears to shut it out.

The numbness that he had experienced was starting to fade, as he quickly realized that something was very wrong. These people couldn't all be here; it was completely impossible. He forced himself to look away, tilting his head downward and closing his eyes, as he tried to shut out the din that was growing louder and louder.

"This… this can't be happening… this isn't really happening…" he spoke quietly, trying weakly to reassure himself. This couldn't be anything more than the strange powers of the Reflection Cave, torturing him for reasons he didn't understand.

"You can't block us out, Ash," Misty taunted, her voice somehow carrying over all the others. "We're in your head. You can't make us go away."

"Shut… shut up…" He closed his eyes tighter, pressing his hands hard against his ears, trying to muffle the sound that wouldn't go away, no matter how hard he tried. "You aren't real… none of this is real…"

"So what if we're not real? That doesn't mean what we're saying isn't true." The voice of Iris cut through the rest, as if she was speaking directly into his ears. "You know Serena's going to leave you for real, eventually. Deep down, you know that you don't deserve her. You don't deserve anyone."

"I said shut up!" he shouted, with all the strength he could muster. "All of you, just leave me alone!"

It took him another moment of covering his ears before he realized that all the talking had abruptly stopped. He opened his eyes again and looked around, seeing the shocked and hurt expressions on the faces of everyone around him. A couple of seconds later, they started to turn and walk away, one by one, disappearing into the darkness of the cave.

"Wait… wait!" Ash began to panic, starting to chase after them as they vanished, the pit in his stomach returning as he saw himself being abandoned. "Don't go! Don't leave me, please!" He continued to plead with them as they all turned and left without a word, the numbers thinning out quickly. He stood in the center of the circle, turning about quickly to see everyone as they disappeared into the mirrors from which they had come, looking stung by his words.

Before long, there were only three people left that he could see, staring at him with a mix of pain and pity on their faces. The first to turn away was Professor Oak, who sighed and shook his head as he walked off and vanished. The next was Serena, who looked as if she was holding back tears as she pivoted on her heel and walked away. Finally, his mother turned to leave, holding Pikachu in her arms, and was quickly swallowed by the darkness.

Ash felt weak as he looked around himself again, praying that there was anyone else still there, anyone that he hadn't driven away. He stopped in his tracks as he came face-to-face with a tall figure that appeared to be made entirely of shadows, standing a foot and a half over him with a masculine build. Ash stared, taking in the sight, trying to place who this mysterious figure could be, when the shadows started to turn to dust and blow away. He watched as the figure slowly disintegrated, disappearing atom by atom into the darkness of the cave, until there was nothing left. Finally, the light faded, and he was alone.

Ash's breathing was ragged as he looked down, shaken and overwhelmed, feeling like his body was made of cold lead. He couldn't think; he couldn't speak. All he could do was feel the reaction of his body, feeling sick and terrified, surrounded by the consuming darkness and unbearable silence.

"Ash?" His thoughts were interrupted by a gentle, worried voice, and the area around him was suddenly illuminated, the darkness chased away. He glanced toward the source, wincing and covering his eyes as a small but powerful light nearly blinded him, his pupils immediately shrinking. He looked back again after a moment, seeing Serena standing there, lowering the phone that she was using like a flashlight. As her eyes met his, he could see relief cross her face, her body relaxing.

"Thank goodness," she spoke quietly. "I was worried we'd lost you back there."

He paused for a moment, studying her carefully, not yet ready to trust that she was real, as she stepped closer. "It looks like all of us got separated from each other, but everyone else is back outside, at the exit. The way out is pretty straightforward, so we can just-" Her speech was interrupted as he started walking toward her, then running, then finally reaching her and wrapping his arms around her, as tightly as he could.

"Ash?!" she exclaimed, taken aback by the intensity of his reaction. "Ash, are you okay?!"

"I…" He tried to bring himself under control as he held her tight, needing a moment to reassure himself that this was reality, that the words he had heard before weren't the real truth of how she felt. After a few moments, he relaxed his grip on her, his breathing starting to come back to normal. "I'm fine. Sorry. I'm fine."

She wrapped his arms around him as well, trying to be as comforting as she could. "What did you see?" she asked knowingly.

He hesitated, not sure how to answer. Part of him wanted to open up completely about everything he had just seen and heard. He wanted to tell her all about the crippling self-doubt that he kept inside, the imposter syndrome that haunted him regularly, and his constant fear that he would one day lose her - a fear that had caused him to nearly throw away his shot at the Kalos League just days before, in a desperate bid to try and convince her to stay with him a little longer.

"…nothing," he finally answered. "Nothing important." He paused for a moment, not yet ready to let her go. "What about you?"

Serena hesitated as well, her mind immediately recalling the visions that had confronted her minutes ago. She saw her mother holding an empty keyring, devoid of any of the Princess Keys that it was supposed to hold, looking almost angry at the time and expense she had wasted on her failure of a daughter. Beside her was an upset Shauna, a smug Miette, and a number of others who had supported her on her past journeys, none of them interested in supporting her now. At her mother's other side was Ash, whose look of pure, devastated disappointment had nearly reduced her to tears.

"Same as you," she replied. "Nothing important."

They finally let each other go a few seconds later, turning to leave. Serena led the way toward the cave exit, using her phone light to illuminate the path forward, his hand tightly clasped in hers to ensure they didn't get separated again.

* * *

A few minutes later, the two of them finally emerged from the Reflection Cave, stepping out into the night air to find the others waiting nervously for them. Pikachu ran up and leaped into Ash's arms, nuzzling his cheek, more than relieved to see his trainer again. Iris and Brock ran forward to greet them, visibly relieved, but also clearly shaken from what they had just experienced.

After reassuring each other that they were all fine, they continued walking, wanting to cover a bit more distance before setting up camp. None of them ever talked about what they saw in the cave.


	18. Lost and Found!

Two days after he and his friends had left Shalour City, Ash was sitting in the empty lobby of the Geosenge Town Pokémon Center, looking through his Pokédex and focusing intensely. The previous day's travels were quiet and awkward, as all of them were still processing what had happened to them in the Reflection Cave, but nobody wanted to be the one to talk about it and expose themselves in the process. Their arrival in Geosenge Town had served as a good distraction, and by the time they went to bed, they were able to put the episode behind them for the most part.

Ash had eaten his breakfast more quickly than the others that morning, before walking into the lobby and sitting in the first chair he saw, pulling out his Pokédex. He started flipping through it, looking at what species of Pokémon could be found nearby, trying to build his team in his mind. His concentration was only broken when felt a pair of hands come to rest on his shoulders; he tilted his head back, glancing upward, and found himself looking into the upside-down face of Serena.

"What are you doing out here, Ash?" she asked curiously.

"Hey, Serena." Ash smiled back up at her. "I'm just looking through my Pokédex for a minute."

"I can see that," she replied. "Why are you looking through it? And why do you look like you're cramming for a test?"

"I'm trying to figure out what Pokémon I should add to my team next." He glanced back down at the device in his hand. "I need to make sure I catch the right Pokémon. There's a lot I need to consider."

"Yeah? Like what?" She smiled and leaned in closer, letting her arms slide around his shoulders gently, looking over his right shoulder at his Pokédex. "Tell me more."

"Ah… well…" Ash took a second to compose himself, grinning involuntarily, tilting the screen to face Serena a bit more. "Right now I'm thinking of how I'm going to beat Grant and his Rock-type Pokémon, but I need to think about the Pokémon League at the same time. If I start tailoring my team for type advantages for every Gym Leader, it'll be completely unbalanced. Plus, I'd have to spend ages building them up before each Gym Battle."

"Huh. Didn't you catch Skorupi for your battle in Laverre City, though? That's what you told me."

"I did, but that only really works for the first few battles," he explained. "The fewer Pokémon that are in the battle, the more a single type-advantage Pokémon benefits you. That advantage starts weakening right around now." He turned his head to face her a bit more, feeling her hair brushing against his cheek as he did so. "I think this time, I'm just going to have to accept the disadvantage and work to overcome it."

"I see…" Serena nodded thoughtfully, trying to file this information away, hoping that knowing more about battling might make her feel closer to him. "So what are you thinking, then? You're just going to build out your team for the Kalos League?"

"That's what I'm thinking, yeah." Ash pressed a few buttons on the Pokédex, showing a view of the Pokémon they were likely to see on Route 10. "Golett could work, Houndour could work, Eevee could work great with the right Evolution Stone… I usually have a Flying-type Pokémon on hand by now, too. They come in handy a lot, and the people I face in the League are definitely going to have some of their own. I'd love to get one of those next, if I can." He started scrolling through the Pokémon, seeing a Snubbull, a Houndour, a Nosepass, and more. "If worst comes to worst and I don't catch one, I could always call up Hawlucha. He was a great fighter last time."

"I remember him," she responded, thinking back on how well the Fighting/Flying-type Pokémon had done in many of Ash's previous battles with him. "He'd be great, I bet."

"We'll see." Ash lowered his Pokédex a bit. "It all depends on what we come across. You sort of have to take what comes to you and hope for the best."

Serena smiled warmly, her arms holding him a bit closer. "I'm sure whatever you end up doing will work out, Ash. You're a fantastic trainer. You'll do great no matter what happens."

Ash grinned wide and nodded as her arms pulled him back into her a bit, closing his eyes as he felt her cheek lightly brushing against his. He took in a deep breath, focusing on the warmth he felt from her, the softness of her skin, the gentleness of her arms as she held him. He didn't dare say another word, nor move a muscle, not wanting to interrupt the moment and cause her to step away. The two of them were mostly too antsy and nervous for public displays of affection, but sometimes when they were alone, there would be moments like this, and Ash relished every second of them. The sensation of being close to her, of her gentle and affectionate touches, brought out feelings in him that he didn't have the words to describe.

As he slowly exhaled, his eyes opened again, as he suddenly remembered something he had thought of weeks ago when he had first arrived. He spoke up again just as he felt her start to pull away. "Hey, Serena, I was wondering something…"

"Hm? What is it?" She leaned back in close to him.

"Have you noticed… it might just be in my head, but have you noticed the air in Kalos is just… nicer then the air anywhere else?" he asked, thinking back to his arrival at the Lumiose City airport. "It's cleaner, it's fresher, it smells nicer, like flowers or something…"

"Oh, yes, of course." Serena nodded, understanding immediately. "It's not just you. That's absolutely a real thing. Kalos cultivates that on purpose."

"Really?" He glanced back at her, eyebrows raising. "How do they do that?"

"A few things… let's see…" Her eyes flicked upward as she thought to herself. "There's very little heavy manufacturing in Kalos; it's mostly just the Poké Ball factory and that's it. We also make a lot of perfumes here, and we plant lots of flowers, too. It all adds up. There might be other regulations, too. I don't remember all of it."

"I see… I had no idea it was on purpose. It makes sense, though."

"Mhmm." She glanced back at him. "Why do you ask?"

"No real reason," he replied. "It was just something I was thinking about."

"Hm…" She smirked a bit. "And why were you thinking about that just now?"

"Ah…" He glanced downward, suddenly sheepish. "Like I said… no real reason."

"Uh huh." She stood up fully behind him, letting her hands slowly slide off his shoulders. "Well, now you know." She turned and walked away to go and gather her things, grinning wide, her cheeks flushed. Ash was blushing as well, a bit embarrassed, trying to regain his composure as he continued studying his Pokédex.

* * *

Ninety minutes later, the foursome were eating lunch at a picnic table not far outside of Geosenge Town. They had meant to travel farther before stopping, but they had been delayed for a handful of reasons; Ash had forgotten one of his belongings in the Pokémon Center, and Serena had been stopped by a small group of fans who wanted to talk with her. As a result, they ended up taking a break with Geosenge City still in sight, their growling stomachs forcing their hand.

After enjoying a delicious lunch cooked by Brock, Serena had brought out a container of cream puffs she had baked recently, for everyone to enjoy. They had intended to save most of them for later, but as soon as each of them tasted one, all restraint was gone. They quickly went through the entire collection, complimenting Serena on the taste whenever their mouths weren't full. Before long, Brock and Serena were sitting back, full and happy, while Ash reached out to snag the last remaining cream puff.

As he started to grasp it, he felt another set of fingers touching his, trying to do the same thing. He looked upward to see Iris reaching out for it as well, their eyes meeting. They both smirked at each other, eyes flaring, and an instant later they had both slammed their elbows down on the table, clasping hands and engaging in an impromptu arm wrestling match. They both strained against the other for several long seconds, exerting every ounce of strength they had, fighting for pride and pastry alike. Eventually, Iris slammed Ash's arm down against the table, letting out a triumphant cheer as she let go.

"Geez…" Ash rubbed his now-sore arm as he looked back at her.

"Let the record show," Iris spoke, reaching out for her prize, "that the score is now six for me, and three for you." She took a bite out of the cream puff, the taste even sweeter after having earned it.

"You need to build up those muscles, Ash," Serena added teasingly, standing up and grabbing the empty container, as Iris popped the rest of the pastry into her mouth. "You need to do some weight training. You can't keep letting Iris show you up."

"Yeah?" He glanced back at her, a defeated tone evident in his voice, as she kneeled down next to her backpack. "You know a lot about weight training, Serena?"

"Of course," she replied, putting the empty container away. "I do plenty of working out when I have the time. You can't be a great dancer with flabby muscles."

"Oh, really?" Iris grinned, placing her elbow back on the table and aiming her arm in Serena's direction. "You think you can do better?"

Serena laughed as she stood back up. "No way, I'd get creamed. All my strength is in my legs and my core. We'd have to do something like leg wrestling if we wanted it to be fair."

The two girls looked toward each other for a moment, grins spreading wide across their faces as they both got the same idea at the same time. Iris jumped up, and the two of them quickly moved toward the end of the picnic table, toward more open grass. Serena was blocked by Ash, however, as he stretched out his arm in front of her.

"Huh?" She stopped and looked toward him, curious; he looked back at her and put his finger to his lips, before pointing up at the bough of a nearby tree. Sitting high up on one of the branches, she could see a Pokémon that looked like a cross between a bird and a hieroglyph. Its body was mostly round, with colorful zigzagging stripes adorning it, and it had colorful but minimal wings coming out of its shoulders. Serena didn't recognize it, but Ash clearly did, and he wasn't about to let this chance pass him by.

Everyone followed Ash's lead, staying quiet and still, as he motioned for Pikachu to come closer. He closed his hand into a fist, then opened it back up as he thrust it in the direction of the resting Pokémon. Pikachu nodded, understanding the command perfectly, charging up a ball of electricity on his tail. Just as he started whirling around, but before he could aim the attack, he cried out as he found himself suddenly frozen in place, the telltale aura of a Psychic attack surrounding him. The ball of electricity flew off into the sky, stretching out into a wide Electroweb before dissipating.

Ash's eyes widened, and he looked back toward the bird Pokémon, who was staring down at the group with three eyes, one on its head and two on its stomach. It started flapping its meager wings, taking off and flying back in the direction of Geosenge Town.

"Darn it!" Ash exclaimed, running over to his backpack. "I thought I had it!"

"What is that, Ash?" Brock asked, eyes following the mysterious Pokémon as it flew away.

"It's a Sigilyph!" Ash answered, quickly slipping his backpack on. "It's both a Flying-type and a Psychic-type! I almost never get my hands on Psychic-type Pokémon!" He started running after it, Pikachu following behind him.

"You can get it, Ash!" Serena called out encouragingly, as she slipped on her own backpack. Iris and Brock did the same, as they all followed him from a bit of a distance, hoping that Ash would be able to catch the Pokémon before they ran all the way back to town.

* * *

Several minutes later, Ash slowed to a stop as he took his first steps back into Geosenge Town. He had managed to keep pace with the Sigilyph, and Pikachu had fired off a couple of Thunder Bolts, but the Pokémon remained stubbornly un-caught. He groaned as he watched the Sigilyph fly up and over one of the buildings, vanishing from his sight.

"Ugh…" He took a second to catch his breath, hands on his knees, as the others came up behind him. "I was so close… I could have gotten it right when we first saw it…"

"I'm sorry, Ash." Serena stepped up behind him. "Maybe you'll see another one on the way to Brackish Town. That can't have been the only one."

"No way," he replied, shaking his head as he stood up fully. "I'm not giving up that easily. There's only so far that thing can fly."

"Ash, you're not going to keep chasing it, are you?" Iris asked, surprised. "Do you even know where it went?"

"It's a small town. It can't have gotten that far." He started running toward where he last saw the Sigilyph, looking back. "I won't be long, I promise!"

"Wait! Ash!" Serena called out, to no avail; he quickly rounded one corner, then another, disappearing behind a building. She sighed and slumped a bit, less than thrilled at this turn of events. Iris and Brock weren't any happier.

"Well, girls…" Brock spread his arms wide, gesturing mockingly toward the town in front of them. "Welcome to Geosenge Town… again."

"Does he seriously expect us to wait here for him while he chases a bird all over town?" Iris groused, putting her hands on her hips. "I'm giving him one hour, then I'm calling him and telling him we're leaving."

"Iris, this is important," Serena responded gently but firmly. "This Pokémon could help him a lot if he catches it. Give him a chance."

Iris looked back at her. "How long do you think we should wait, then?"

Serena spent a moment struggling with her answer. As quick as she had been to leap to Ash's defense, she knew that she had a showcase she needed to get to in Brackish Town, and they didn't have a lot of time for dawdling. On top of that, she had to admit she didn't really want to sit around and wait for him all day, either.

"…Two hours," she eventually responded.

"Fine." Iris started walking forward into town. "Let's go find something to do, then."

Serena and Brock followed her in, and the three of them started discussing how they could kill time. As they were coming to a decision, they paused as they heard a distressed female voice calling out from a few blocks away.

"Hydreigon! Where did you go?! Come back, Hydreigon!"

"Huh?" Brock looked around, a bit curious as to where the voice was coming from. "Did someone lose their Pokémon?"

"Sounds like it," Serena responded, also looking for the source of the voice. "I hope she find them." She turned her gaze forward again, stopping short in surprise when she saw that Iris had stopped dead in front of them, barely breathing, her eyes wide as saucers.

"That… it can't be…" She looked around for a moment, her heart suddenly pounding, hoping that the owner of the voice spoke up again.

"Whatever it is I did, I'm sorry, Hydreigon! Please come back!"

Iris took off like a rocket, running in the direction of the voice as it started to grow clearer, cupping her hands to her mouth and calling out. "Shannon! Shannon, is that you?!"

"What?! Who said that?! Who's there?!"

"Shannon, it's me!" She turned a corner and looked down the sidewalk, gasping and covering her mouth when she saw who was there. At the other end of the block was a young girl of Iris's age and stature, with long maroon hair that fell partway down her back. As their eyes met, the other girl gasped as well.

"Oh my gosh…" The girl stood still for a moment, in shock and disbelief, a bit overcome. As Iris started running excitedly toward her, she managed to come back down to Earth and raced back in Iris's direction, practically leaping into her arms as they embraced each other.

"I don't believe it!" Iris exclaimed, holding the girl tightly. "Shannon, what are you doing here?!"

"I'm going on a Pokémon journey, same as you!" Shannon answered, her shock and bewilderment quickly giving way to excitement and elation. "I didn't think I would actually run into you here!"

"You should have called me! We could have been journeying together all this time!" The two girls finally let each other go, standing back and clasping hands as they beamed at each other.

"Iris?" Both of them looked over to see Serena approaching, with Brock right behind her. "You know this girl? Who is she?"

"Yes!" Iris let go of Shannon's hands, gesturing toward her. "This is Shannon! She's my best friend. We grew up together in Unova, in the Village of Dragons." She glanced back at her friend. "This is Serena and Brock. I've been traveling with them for the past month or so."

"Oh! Well, it's nice to meet you, Shannon." Serena smiled and stepped forward, shaking Shannon's hand.

"You too, Serena." Shannon studied Serena's face curiously. "You look familiar… have I seen you somewhere before?"

"Serena's a top-tier performer here in Kalos," Iris answered, knowing Serena was too modest to answer directly. "You probably saw her on TV a few weeks back."

Recognition quickly flashed across Shannon's eyes. "It was on TV! I remember now!" She grinned as she saw Serena look down sheepishly, turning pink. "You have the coolest friends, Iris!"

She turned her attention toward Brock, who smiled and stepped forward, extending his hand. "My name's Brock. I'm from Pewter City, in the Kanto region. I haven't been on TV, but I hope I'm still cool." The two shook hands for a moment before he continued. "So why were you yelling for your Hydreigon a moment ago?"

"Ah! That's right!" Shannon was quickly jolted back to reality, after being swept up in the excitement of seeing Iris again. "Hydreigon… I've been letting him out every day so he could fly around and stretch his wings. But today, he just didn't come back…"

"Oh no…" Serena brought up her hand to cover her mouth, immediately concerned at the crestfallen expression on Shannon's face. "Was he acting strange at all?"

"No, he wasn't. I don't know why he would have left."

"Don't worry, Shannon," Iris spoke up confidently. "We'll all help you find him, won't we?" She looked back at Serena and Brock, who both nodded affirmatively, happy to help.

Shannon smiled, looking around at all of them, feeling a little more optimistic. "Thank you, everyone. I hope he didn't get too far…" The four of them started walking down Geosenge Town's main street, calling out for Shannon's lost Pokémon.

* * *

At that very moment, Hydreigon was on the roof of one of the tallest buildings in town, though not by choice. He was struggling against a surprisingly strong tube made of thick rubber, one that was encasing him completely. He tried to claw at it, bash his head against it, desperate to get out, but to no avail. Standing off to the side, watching the Pokémon struggle against his constraints, stood two criminals and their Pokémon.

"Well, at least we know it works," Jessie commented. "If it was possible for that thing to break out, it would have done it by now. There's no way that Pikachu can escape from this." She turned to look at her partner. "That's some pretty impressive engineering, James."

"Thanks, Jessie… only now it's going to take me thirty minutes to set it back up," James lamented, glaring down at Meowth, annoyance all over his face. "You just had to press the button when that Pokémon landed on the trap, didn't you?"

"Hey, give me a break!" Meowth shot back. "I panicked! Pokémon like me are like hors d'oeuvres to Hydreigons!" He gestured toward a circular contraption on the ground behind James, identical to the one underneath the now-captive Hydreigon. "What's the big deal? We've got another one, and it's not like we need two to capture Pikachu."

"The more we have, the better our chances!" James responded angrily.

"I suppose you'll just have to set it up again," Jessie chimed in, causing James to groan and slump forward. "In the meantime, how are we going to get rid of this thing? We can't just let it go. It'll tear us to shreds."

Both of them turned and glared at Meowth again, who raised his paws in defense. "Hey, don't look at me! I'm gonna be as far away as possible when we let that thing go!"

Jessie grumbled and looked away, glancing over the streets of Geosenge Town, as James sighed. "Unless we want to fight this thing off, we'll all have to be far away when we let it go. I guess we'll find out the range on that button."

"Hold on…" Jessie walked over to the edge of the building they were standing on, kneeling down and looking at the streets below. James and Meowth followed her lead, trying to find what she was looking at, quickly spotting Iris and the others. All of them were looking around, calling out for Hydreigon, hoping that he might come out from wherever he was hiding.

"It's the twerps!" Meowth exclaimed, before quickly hushing himself. "Does that mean this thing belongs to one of them?"

"It sure seems like it," Jessie answered, smirking. "Looks to me like opportunity is knocking." The three of them retreated from the rooftop, planning out how to best approach this situation.

* * *

Some time later, the four teenagers were walking down one of the last unexplored streets in town. Coming to the end of it, they found themselves back in a familiar location, and as they looked around for other paths to take, they collectively realized they had explored every street in the downtown area.

"He's not anywhere around here… he must have really flown far away…" Shannon's face fell, her stomach in knots. Iris felt her stomach twisting up as well, seeing the pain on her friend's face. She turned to face forward, calling out one last time.

"Hydreigon! Where are you?!"

"Gah!" Everyone turned in surprise as the tree next to them yelped. "Who's shouting?!" They watched the branches rustle for a minute, before Ash's head poked out amongst the leaves, followed by Pikachu's.

"Ash!" Serena stepped forward. "What are you doing up there?"

"I'm trying to find Sigilyph! I'm scoping out the town!" He looked back down at them, his eyes quickly homing in on the new addition to their group. "Who's this?"

"Ash, you remember Shannon, don't you?" Iris asked. "From the Village of Dragons, back home?"

His eyes lit up with recognition after a second. "Yeah, I do remember!" He started climbing down the tree. "What are you doing here, Shannon? Why are you shouting?"

"We're trying to find my Hydreigon… he flew off, and didn't come back…"

"Oh no, really?" He hopped down to the ground, Pikachu hopping onto his shoulder. "Well, I can help you find him, no problem. Where should we start?"

"What about that Sigilyph?" Serena asked.

"It's fine. This is more important. I can always catch something else." Ash gave Shannon an encouraging smile, which she didn't return.

"Thank you, Ash, but… don't worry about it…" She looked down at her feet. "If he hasn't come back by now… maybe he doesn't want to come back." Her voice trembled a bit, and she looked to be on the verge of tears. "This is all my fault… I wasn't a good enough breeder…"

"Shannon! That's not true!" Iris exclaimed, shocked. "Both of your Hydreigons love you, and you know it! I don't know where he is, but I know he didn't run away on purpose!"

Shannon seemed a little boosted by Iris's words, but not much. The five of them stood around for a few moments, having no idea how to proceed from here; they had already scoured the whole of the downtown, and none of them were certain that expanding the search would do much good. Before they could come to a decision, they were distracted by a voice calling out to them.

"Yoohoo! Looking for something?" All five of them quickly turned around, looking upward at the source of the noise, gasping as they saw Hydreigon at the edge of the roof of one building, struggling to break free of the transparent prison that he had been trapped within. On either side of him were Jessie and James, with Meowth at James's feet, all of them holding onto the rubber container, trying to keep the captive Pokémon from inching his way off the roof.

"Oh no! Hydreigon!" Shannon shouted, running toward him, with the others following behind her.

"You three again?!" Ash exclaimed, instantly angry. "What are you even doing with him?!"

"You want him back, hm? Well then, how about a trade?" Jessie smirked. "Come on up here and let's talk turkey." The three of them grabbed Hydreigon's container and started dragging him back toward the center of the roof, having to struggle against his powerful thrashing, much less dignified than they were hoping to look.

Ash growled, starting to run toward the building, causing Serena to call out to him. "Ash! You're not actually going to try trading with them, are you?"

"What choice do we have?" He turned around and looked back at the others. "We have to get that Hydreigon back! Come on, guys!"

All five of them started making their way to the building, running toward the front door, wondering how to get on the roof. High above them, hovering in the air as it flapped its wings, Sigilyph watched the group as they entered the building and started making their way up.

* * *

Minutes later, Ash stepped out of a stairwell and onto the roof of the building they had entered, seeing Hydreigon and his captors several yards away. Jessie smirked, pleased, as the others filtered in behind him.

"Glad you all decided to show up," she spoke smugly. "Now let's talk business."

"What do you jerks want?!" Iris demanded. "If you hurt that Hydreigon at all, I'll…" She started marching toward them, causing James to hold up a small remote threateningly.

"Hold it right there!" he warned, clutching the remote in his fist. "All of you, stay right there. Get too close and I'll destroy the release mechanism. He'll be trapped, with no way of getting out!"

"What?!" Iris froze in place. "You… no way! You're bluffing!"

"You want to find out?" Meowth taunted. Iris glared back at them, but didn't take another step. She wasn't sure she believed them, but she wasn't willing to risk Shannon's Pokémon over it.

"Much better." James stood up straight, feeling good about the situation and hoping his confidence wasn't misplaced. "Now then, let's talk about that trade. I think you know who we want in exchange for Hydreigon." He immediately focused on Pikachu; Jessie and Meowth did the same.

Ash gritted his teeth, infuriated and torn. Normally he would be confident in his ability to get either Pikachu or Hydreigon back, but the criminal trio had come far too close to escaping with Pikachu just weeks before. He had no desire to give Pikachu up, but even the thought of giving up Hydreigon made him feel sick with guilt.

"Why are you three even doing this?!" Iris shouted at them, startling Ash a bit and breaking his train of thought. "You're not even with Team Rocket anymore! Why do you care about Pikachu now?!"

"W… what?!" Jessie stammered a bit in surprise, all of them caught off guard. "We're… who told you that?!"

"We heard everything from Bill and Cassidy back in Shalour City," Iris responded. "They told us you got the boot years ago!"

"Urgh… those two…" James gritted his teeth, trying to remain intimidating despite his obvious embarrassment. "Even after we're gone, they still have to ruin our careers, don't they?"

"What do you need Pikachu for anymore?" Ash called out. "Why don't you just go away and leave us alone?!"

Jessie growled. "Why don't you just go back to Pallet Town and bag groceries or whatever?"

"No way! I'm not giving up on my dream just because of you three!"

"Well, we're not giving up on our dream, either!" James shot back. "Our dream is to rejoin Team Rocket, and nothing's going to stop us from achieving it!"

"That's right!" Meowth chimed in.

Jessie kept quiet, her eyes fixed on Pikachu, a noncommittal expression on her face. It took her a couple of seconds to realize that the other two were looking her way, waiting for her to chime in and fill the silence. She quickly spoke up, tripping over her words a bit. "Right… that's right."

James ignored the odd response, looking back at Ash and his friends. "That's enough talk. If you want this Hydreigon back, you'll set your Pikachu down right here." He tapped his foot on a small circular device on the ground, identical to the one that was underneath Hydreigon. "Once we've gotten far away, then you'll get your other Pokémon back."

"Why should we trust you?" Serena demanded, stepping up beside Ash.

"What choice do you think you have?" Jessie shot back.

All of them stood quietly for a moment, the two groups glaring at each other, as Ash tried to figure out what to do. After several tense seconds, Pikachu jumped off his shoulder and started walking toward the trap, looking simultaneously angry and resigned.

"Pikachu!" Ash gasped as his Pokémon moved closer and closer to the trap, keeping his eyes suspiciously on the trio in front of him. He eventually set foot on the device, sitting on it and looking up, waiting for them to get on with whatever it was they planned to do.

"Well, I'm glad one of you is seeing sense." James grinned, turning toward Meowth. "Alright, activate the trap!"

"With pleasure!" The small cat Pokémon held out a remote very similar to the one in James's hand, his other paw hovering above it, ready to press the button and activate the mechanism. He held that pose for several long seconds, not moving a muscle, as everyone else watched, the moment starting to change from tense to awkward.

"Any day now, Meowth…" Jessie suggested.

"I'm… trying!" Meowth answered, his voice oddly strained, his jaw barely moving. "Can't… move…!"

James blinked in surprise, wondering what he was talking about, when he managed to notice the strange aura that was surrounding Meowth at that moment. His eyes widened in shock, and he tried to step forward to help, only to find that he, too, was frozen in place. Jessie was similarly stuck, and she started straining against her invisible restraints, to no effect.

"Huh?" Ash took a closer look at them, recognizing the telltale aura of a Psychic attack. He quickly looked around, trying to find the source of it. After a moment, he looked upward and gasped again, his face breaking into a wide smile. "Ah! Look!" Everyone else followed his lead, finding the Sigilyph from before flying above them, focusing hard on keeping the former Team Rocket members frozen in place.

"No way!" Brock exclaimed, pleasantly surprised. "I can't believe it actually came back!"

"Now's our chance!" Ash took a step forward. "Pikachu, hit the button on James's remote!"

"No! Don't!" James pleaded helplessly, redoubling his futile efforts to get free. Pikachu ignored him, climbing up his body and onto his arm, slamming his paw against the button. In an instant, the rubber casing surrounding Hydreigon split into two halves and fell away, freeing the Pokémon from his prison.

"Yes!" Iris clenched both fists in front of her excitedly. "Great work, Pikachu!"

"Thank goodness!" Relief spread quickly throughout Shannon's body, before she stood back up fully. "Alright, Hydreigon, teach these three a lesson they won't forget!"

The trio could do nothing but watch helplessly as the enraged Hydreigon stretched his wings and advanced toward them. Each of his heads shot forward and grabbed one of them in its jaw; two of them grabbed Jessie and James by their collars, while the third snatched up Meowth by the tail. The dragon Pokémon started to spin around rapidly, faster and faster, before eventually letting go with all three of its mouths. Jessie, James and Meowth all screamed as they were flung far outside the edges of Geosenge Town, too far to even see where they eventually landed.

"Hmph! Good riddance." Serena un-tensed and relaxed, watching with the others as Shannon ran up to her Pokémon, throwing her arms around his neck.

"I'm so glad you're okay, Hydreigon! I was so worried about you!" Her Hydreigon returned the affection happily, making a mewling sound as he wrapped an arm around her in response.

Iris was smiling from ear to ear, relieved and thrilled. "See, Shannon? I told you that Pokémon loved you. There aren't many people that can make a Hydreigon act like that."

"There sure aren't," Brock chimed in. "You must really be a talented breeder."

Shannon smiled as she turned back to them, flushing a bit. "Thank you for saying that, both of you. I guess I just need some more confidence in myself."

Ash nodded, looking back up at the Pokémon flying overhead. "Thanks to you, too, Sigilyph. Without your help, I don't know where we'd be right now."

Sigilyph cawed from some unknown orifice, swooping down closer to the rooftop and hovering just over it, looking Ash straight in the eyes with as piercing of a look as it could manage. Ash's eyebrows raised in surprise; he had expected the Pokémon to fly away again, after the chase they had gone through earlier in the day.

"Huh? What's it doing?" Serena wondered aloud.

"I think it wants to battle you, Ash," Iris chimed in. Sigilyph nodded, spreading its wings, trying to appear as intimidating as possible.

Ash grinned wide, excited. "Sure looks like it to me." He looked down at Pikachu, who had settled at its feet. "You ready, Pikachu?"

Pikachu cheered affirmatively, running forward on all fours and taking up an offensive position. The others moved away, standing behind Ash and watching curiously, as he issued his first command and the two Pokémon began to battle.


	19. History in the Making!

Days after they left Geosenge Town, Ash and his friends were walking into the downtown area of Brackish Town, with additional companions in tow. At Iris's heavy and unnecessary insistence, Shannon had happily agreed to travel with the group, eager to spend time with her best friend. Ash had a new companion of his own as well, after successfully defeating and capturing the Sigilyph that he had chased all over town. Some practice battles between Sigilyph and Axew had told him that his new Pokémon had a quiet but honorable nature, and a visit to the Pokémon Center had informed him that his new Pokémon was female. How Nurse Joy managed to figure it out, he did not know; his knowledge of Pokémon biology began and ended with what attacks they could perform.

As they ventured into downtown and toward the Brackish Town Theatre, all eyes were on Serena, almost literally. It was hard to ignore the occasional glances from the townsfolk around them, who recognized her from either the Coumarine City Showcase or the advertisements for it that had briefly appeared all over the region. Ash could tell that she was uncomfortable receiving attention from all angles, but she was doing her best to take it in stride, walking forward with a smile on her face.

As they approached the showcase venue, Shannon leaned in closer to Iris, her voice low. "Iris, is this…" She gestured toward a couple looking in their direction. "…Normal?"

"Not really," Iris whispered back. "She's been recognized before, but it's never been quite like this."

"They're probably wondering if I'm going to win," interjected Serena, who was perfectly capable of hearing both of them. "Performers winning their first two showcases is uncommon. Winning the first three has never happened."

"Is that worrying you at all, Serena?" Brock asked.

She shook her head. "I'm trying to not think about it at all, honestly. I'm just treating this like any other showcase."

"Really?" Ash wondered. "I thought you might have some super-special performance routine ready for tonight."

"No, I don't, really. I'll try my best, but I've been putting most of the work into my Performance Battle with Iris. That's the one I really want to be good."

"You should make this one really good, too!" he responded, the energy rising in his voice. "Think about what it would be like to make Kalos history! They'd be talking about you for decades!"

"Ash, stop!" Serena turned a bit red, her palms moving to her warm cheeks. "You're going to make me nervous!" She grinned even as she blushed and protested; the idea sounded a lot more appealing when he said it.

As they finally reached the theatre, they were greeted by a fairly thick crowd, composed of performers, performers' families, and spectators. They merged into the throng, looking for the entrance to the venue, quickly splitting into two groups to find it more quickly; Ash and Brock started walking along the left side, while Serena, Iris and Shannon went to the right. After a few moments of walking, trying to navigate the crowd, Serena managed to spot the front entrance, as she exhaled in relief. Before she could turn and call back to Ash and Brock, however, she heard a female voice speak teasingly into her ear.

"Well, well, look who it is."

She jumped, startled, and quickly whirled around toward the source of the voice. She found herself looking into the red eyes of a familiar blue-haired girl around her age, standing with her hands clasped in front of her, an innocent yet devious smile on her face.

"Ah!" Recognition quickly flashed across Serena's eyes, as she remembered the competitive performer and baker she had tangled with on her first journey. "Miette!"

The girl smiled wider, glad to be recognized. "I was hoping I'd see you here. You've really been lighting up the showcase circuit, huh?"

Serena grinned wide, stepping forward as the two girls clasped hands, greeting each other like old friends. "It's great to see you again! How have you been? Are you competing here tonight, too?"

"Of course! I'm not here to watch, that's for sure." Miette grinned back. "I saw a video of you in Coumarine City last month. That was the best performance I've ever seen!"

Serena beamed as the two of them spent a moment catching up. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she had some reason to be worried or unsure about Miette, but she didn't care to think about it right now. She was more than happy to have another friend to talk with, especially one who understood what performing was like. Iris and Shannon stepped back and gave them their space, going to fetch Ash and Brock themselves.

"How have you been doing so far?" Serena asked. "Have you won any showcases yet?"

"No, not yet," Miette responded, smirking a bit. "Not all of us have Princess Keys coming out of their ears."

Serena smiled sheepishly. "Sorry…"

"Don't apologize!" Miette insisted. "You deserve those wins. You've always been a great performer." She adopted a confident smirk. "If you want another one tonight, though, you'll have to beat me to it."

"I'll do my best." Serena's eyes quickly glanced around, not seeing anyone who looked like they were intentionally staying close to Miette. "Have you been traveling with anyone, or is it just you?"

"It's just me, as usual. How about…" Miette did the same, briefly scanning the crowd. Her eyes suddenly lit up, as she saw a very familiar male someone approaching from a few feet away.

"Oh wow! It's him!" She immediately switched focus, brushing past Serena and running toward Ash as quickly as she could. Serena watched her go, her blood turning to ice as soon as she realized what was happening. Instantly, she remembered exactly why she felt the need to be worried.

"Ash! I can't believe you're here!" Miette ran right up to him, taking him by surprise. "You remember me, don't you? Your old dance partner?"

It took Ash a moment to remember what this girl was talking about, her overly friendly gaze bringing back memories from years past. "Miette! Yeah, I remember! How are you doing?"

"I'm doing great," she answered, leaning in flirtatiously, her hands clasped behind her back. Her eyes quickly took him in. "You've certainly grown, haven't you?"

"Ah, yeah…" Ash rubbed the back of his head, not having thought much about it. "We all have. It's been a while, huh?"

Serena stepped up to the two of them, glancing over Miette, nervously noting the specific ways in which she had grown over the years. Miette was a couple of inches shorter than Serena, but was noticeably more full-figured, and she was certain Ash had noticed as well. Perhaps it was from all the baking, she thought to herself.

"What have you been up to?" Ash continued, not wanting to be impolite. "Have you been practicing your performances this whole time?"

Miette shook her head. "No, I haven't. I've mostly been working on my bakery business." She reached into the bag that was hanging from her shoulder, rifling through it and producing a tin. She opened it and presented it to Ash, revealing a number of fresh-looking profiteroles. "Go ahead, try one!"

"Thanks." Ash smiled and reached in carefully, plucking one from the bunch and taking a bite, his eyebrows raising as he tasted it. "Whoa! That's good!"

She grinned wide. "Isn't it the best you've ever had?"

"It's up there, for sure," he answered diplomatically, fully aware of the other baker standing at his side.

"We should go in and get some seats. There's already a lot of people here." Iris stepped forward, grasping Ash's sleeve and starting to pull him along, sensing that he needed to be rescued from this conversation. He eagerly followed her lead, relieved, turning back toward the two performers.

"We'll see you guys later! Good luck, Serena! You too, Miette!" Miette grinned and waved at him as he departed, keeping her eyes locked on his as best she could. Serena waved as well, relieved to see that she was the one Ash chose to make eye contact with as he left.

"We should get inside, too. The first rounds are going to be starting before too long." Miette turned and headed in the other direction, toward the performers' entrance. Serena watched her for a moment before taking a deep breath and letting it out, following a few paces behind. She knew she had no reason to worry. She reminded herself that she was the one Ash had come to Kalos to see, not Miette. Even so, it was frustratingly hard for her to cast off her lingering doubts in Miette's presence. As she walked through the door and entered the theatre, she hoped that not every girl who flirted with Ash would make her feel like this.

* * *

Some minutes later, Serena had changed into her performance outfit, and was walking toward one of the many mirrors in the dressing room, needing to apply her makeup. As she approached, she could see Miette in the corner of the room, doing the same thing. She tried not to look her way.

Miette's eyes followed Serena as she walked robotically toward one of the mirrors, setting her makeup bag down. "You seem pretty nervous."

"I'm fine," Serena answered, unzipping her bag and taking out a hair brush, the strain evident in her voice.

Miette smirked a bit as she carefully applied mascara to her eyelashes. "I know why you're upset."

"Mm." Serena started tending to her hair, not wanting to have this conversation.

"You don't need to worry. I was just having some fun earlier." The mascara brush moved to Miette's other eye. "I've forgotten all about our 'other' competition. I won't get in your way."

"That's good to hear." Serena continued brushing her hair, staying silent for a moment before changing her mind. "Because I already won a long time ago."

"Really?!" Miette quickly turned to face Serena, surprised and excited. "You finally let him know how you felt, huh?"

"I did." Serena remained terse, as she put down her hair brush and reached for her blue flower clip.

"Well, what did he do?"

"He didn't really have time to do anything. I was already leaving." She slid the clip into her hair, placing it carefully. "We didn't see each other for a long time after that." She let a gentle smile creep across her face, as she started to relax. "But eventually… he came back to Kalos to find me."

"Wow… how romantic." Miette grinned wide, turning back to her mirror and double-checking her makeup. "Maybe I should have said something to him when I had the chance, after all."

"Maybe so… but I'm glad I did something first."

Serena reached for her foundation, pausing for a moment as she held it in her hand, a question suddenly burning in her mind. "Actually… why didn't you say anything to him? You had plenty of chances to tell him you liked him. Goodness knows I was taking my sweet time."

Miette sighed. "I never really had a chance with him, Serena. Not when you were around, anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, Serena." She used a brush to lightly adjust her blush. "You were always traveling with him, so he was always thinking of you, not me." She lowered her hands, looking down, her voice getting quieter. "Plus, you were kinder than I was… and prettier than I was…"

Serena turned to face her, eyes wide, never having heard her express vulnerability like this. "Miette…"

Miette shook her head. "It doesn't matter. At the end of the day, he only liked one of us the way we liked him, and it wasn't me. I can't compete with that."

"Miette… he didn't like me like that, either," Serena responded. "I liked him, not the other way around."

"If you say so."

The two of them continued preparing for their performances in silence for nearly a minute. Eventually, Serena spoke up again, her voice quiet. "Thank you for giving me that chance."

"Don't mention it." Miette started packing up her bag again. "I won't be granting you any favors tonight, that's for sure. If you want to make history, you'll have to go through me first."

Serena smiled into her mirror. "I'm planning to."

Miette smiled as well, taking a deep breath and letting it out before turning and heading toward the door. "Good luck out there."

"You too, Miette." Serena's eyes followed her as she walked out the door, exhaling as well, proud of herself for saying what she did. She continued applying her makeup, focusing on the competition in front of her, having no intention of losing this one, either.

* * *

One hour later, Ash, Brock, Iris and Shannon were sitting in the theatre auditorium, watching as Miette finished her solo performance, the first of the night. The audience watched with rapt attention as she spun through the air with her plump Slurpuff, powered by the Psychic ability from her cat-like Meowstic on the ground. As she was slowly lowered back to the stage, the crowd broke out into delighted applause; she grinned wide as she felt the waves of adulation from the audience, curtsying to them in thanks.

"Thank you, Miette, for that spirited performance!" the MC declared from the side of the stage. "Next up, please give a big Brackish Town greeting to Serena, from Vaniville Town!"

The audience's applause filled the auditorium once again, with Ash and his friends cheering louder than anyone else, as Serena walked out to the center of the stage, her three Pokémon in tow. She took a moment to wave to the crowd, with a motion that she had clearly practiced over her years of performing. The crowd was buzzing, cheering longer than they normally would, all of them excited to see if this girl would be making history tonight.

As the applause died down, her Sylveon and Delphox each took a step in front of her, ready to begin. Delphox raised her stick into the air, using her Fire Spin attack to summon rings of flame in the air, while Sylveon used her Fairy Wind to create a ball of pink, shimmering wind in the center of the rings of fire. Just as the music kicked in, the Fairy Wind exploded outward, sending the flames expanding in all directions. The fire died out just as it reached the audience, hitting them instead with a blast of warm air that felt almost as though it were charged with magic of some sort. Serena grinned wide as she heard their excited gasps, and she and Pancham began to dance.

Ash grinned wide as he watched the performance begin, powered by the sort of upbeat and poppy music that she had danced to several years ago. The routine may not have been as visually shocking as the fire ribbon from Lagoon Town, but all of her moves were perfectly on point, as well as her Pokémon's. The crowd was energized as they watched, all of them drinking deep from the energy that Serena was giving off with her dancing and her dazzling smile.

The audience weren't the only ones watching the performance with rapt attention. From the stage right entrance, a young performer with curly brown hair had her eyes locked on Serena, watching with a mix of amazement and anxiety. Madison could already feel her heart pounding at the idea of following this display, not knowing why the crowd would have any interest in her after watching the experienced performer who was now on stage. She had to force herself to look away once the routine was half over, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

_Don't worry about her,_ she told herself as she exhaled slowly. _You don't need to beat her. You're not here to win a Princess Key. You're here because you promised Serena you'd try performing one last time. You just need to make the crowd happy, and then you'll be happy._ Her pep talk to herself had zero effect whatsoever, her nerves coming right back as she turned her attention back to Serena, who was animatedly dancing with Pancham amidst a backdrop of embers and glitter. She felt her Swellow nuzzling her cheek from his perch on her shoulder, and she reached up and pet it gently, trying to clear her mind as the performance on stage started to wrap up.

The song concluded as Serena raised her arms and beamed at the crowd, Pancham posing triumphantly in front of her, with Sylveon and Delphox at either side. The audience burst into applause once again, cheering loudly at the display they had just seen. Serena had easily met the expectations they had all had for a potentially historic performer.

Serena let out a breath, relieved and a little exhausted as she walked over to stage left, the announcer thanking her once again for her performance. Now all she had to do was wait for the final performance to conclude, and the results to come in. With her performance behind her, and her nerves no longer able to ruin it, she started to allow herself to get excited at the idea of doing something nobody else had done before. A nervous grin spread across her face as she stepped off stage.

"…welcome to the stage, Madison!"

Serena abruptly stopped in her tracks, her eyes shooting open as she heard the familiar name. Up until now, she had been so focused on her own performance, as well as distracted by Miette's presence, that she hadn't paid any attention to who else was performing in the showcase. She quickly whirled around, gasping as she immediately recognized the young girl walking out toward center stage. She took a few steps forward, standing in the doorway and calling out, trying her best to be heard over the sound of the audience.

"Good luck, Madison!" she shouted, cupping her hands to her mouth. "You're going to do great!"

Madison looked toward the sound, shocked to see Serena cheering her on so eagerly. She put on the best smile she could, giving her a small wave before turning back to face the crowd. Her heart raced faster than ever as the lights came down, a single spotlight focusing on her; she was thankful, in the moment, that the bright light prevented her from seeing the hundreds of pairs of eyes that were now fixed on her.

As her music began, she felt her Swellow leaping off of her shoulder, spreading his wings and starting to fly above her in a small circle. Her body started moving on its own, muscle memory kicking in as she leaned forward, one leg extended out behind her as she grasped her Roselia in both hands. She shifted her weight, pirouetting in a quick circle before tossing her Pokémon into the air to be caught by Swellow. As the two Pokémon flew about in a circle, Roselia began spreading a Sweet Scent that quickly reached the audience, who inhaled it deeply.

Madison felt herself relaxing a bit as the audience let out a satisfied sigh all at once, glad to be starting off on the right foot, literally. As she glanced upward at her Pokémon, her eyes caught sight of a single dark feather that had molted from Swellow's wing, which was now drifting slowly toward her. She froze for a second, not having expected it to fall, and overly scared of anything that might be seen as a mistake. An instant later, however, her mind suddenly formed a plan, and she took a quick step forward, reaching up and snatching the feather between her index and middle fingers. She couldn't help but grin as she heard a couple audience members gasp in surprise, having correctly assumed the loose feather was not an intentional part of the performance.

As the orchestral music started to pick up speed, her dance routine began in earnest, the molted feather still clutched lightly in her hand. With each successful move, she felt her nerves slowly melting away, as the steps in her performance appeared in her head one after the other. Spin here. Plié here. Reach out and catch Roselia. Leap into the air as Swellow flies underneath. Pose and hold perfectly still, as a Petal Blizzard flies all around her, threatening to cut her if she moves a muscle. She was no longer listening to the crowd, not daring to let anything distract her and ruin the performance, just like in Lagoon Town.

As the music started to reach its climax, Madison leaped back to the center of the stage, starting to spin slowly on one leg. As she did, she could feel the air around her whipping into a frenzy, creating a small whirlwind in the middle of the stage, courtesy of Swellow. From behind her, Roselia used a Petal Dance to create a flurry of petals, which quickly got caught up in the swirling wind and surrounded her, rising upward in a beautiful spiral. The petals spread out as they hit the ceiling of the venue, eventually falling and landing among the amazed spectators.

The recorded orchestra continued to crescendo until it finally reached the final note, a powerful stinger that punctuated the air. Just as the music came to an end, Madison stopped spinning and finally threw the loose feather into the air. Caught up in the final vestiges of the whirlwind, it twirled upward like a helicopter blade, flying many feet above Swellow before coming to a stop, slowly floating down as the lights faded to black.

Madison finally allowed herself to breathe, as the stage lights came back on and the crowd broke into raucous applause. She looked out at the delighted faces of the audiences, hearing the whistles and the cheers over the sound of her heart pounding in her ears. She clasped her hands to her chest, feeling her cheeks flush and her heart swell, in disbelief of what she had just accomplished. She could feel the familiar sensation of pride and excitement that she had felt performing for her family, multiplied a thousand fold. As a wide smile spread across her face, she knew full well that this was not going to be her last showcase.

"A big thanks to Madison for that elegant and inspired performance!" the announcer declared, as Madison continued staring out at the crowd. She eventually noticed some movement beside her, watching Miette and Serena walk back on stage; she quickly hurried to her position on stage right, embarrassed that she had forgotten the directions she had been given beforehand.

"Finally, it's the moment you've been waiting for: it's time to cast your vote and decide who will receive tonight's Princess Key! Don't forget that a green vote is for Miette, a pink vote is for Serena, and a yellow vote is for Madison! Everyone take your Glow Casters and vote now!"

The performers and the audience watched as colored balls of light began to fly through the air, zooming toward the three key holograms that had appeared in front of each performer. The crowd was noisier than usual as they cast their votes, all of them curious to see if Serena would manage to pull off three victories in a row. Madison's eyes were quickly darting back and forth between Serena's key and Miette's, crossing as many fingers and toes as she could. She knew that Serena's performance had been good enough to win, but she was nervous about the outcome all the same.

As the final votes came in, Madison's eyes widened as she saw the final tallies. It had been a close contest, but in the end, Serena had a clear margin of victory over Miette. She nearly shouted with excitement, thrilled that her idol had managed to do what nobody had done before. She took several steps forward as the crowd started to applaud, calling out toward Serena.

"You did it! You really did it!" she exclaimed, as Serena turned to face her. "Congratulations, Serena!"

Serena burst out laughing, saying something that Madison couldn't hear as the sound of applause drowned her out, pointing back toward Madison's key. Madison's eyes followed, curious as to what she meant, and she froze on the spot as she finally looked at her own key for the first time. She quickly looked toward Serena's, then back to her own, repeating this several times in utter confusion. No matter how many times she looked, her own key still appeared to be more full than Serena's.

"What an incredible upset!" the announcer's voice rang out. "We have our winner, ladies and gentlemen! Winning her very first Princess Key, it's Madison!"

Madison's hands quickly moved to cover her mouth in shock, as she watched the audience cheer and applaud, some of them getting to their feet. She couldn't form words, or thoughts, or muster any sort of conscious reaction to what was happening; it was all she could do to continue standing, her legs beginning to tremble. She felt tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes.

As she tried to work up the wherewithal to speak, or move, or anything, she yelped as she felt herself being lifted several feet into the air. Glancing downward in surprise, she could see the smiling face of Miette on one side of her, with the beaming face of Serena on the other side, as they lifted her up on their shoulders.

Her breath was shaky as she looked out at the cheering crowd again, feeling as though her heart was going to burst. She eventually closed her eyes tight, tears cascading down her cheeks, overwhelmed by the enormity of the moment. She tried her best not to sob as the applause washed over her, never having felt such happiness as this before, not even aware that happiness of this magnitude existed. She let the feelings of the moment fill up her heart and soul, forming a memory that she would hold onto for the rest of her life.

* * *

The next day, Ash, Serena and the others were stepping out of the front doors of the Brackish Town Pokémon Center, their bags on their backs, ready for another couple days of traveling. The streets were buzzing with activity, but after last night's showcase, much less attention was being given to Serena. With the potential to make history gone, she had become just another performer once again.

"Well, that's that," Serena spoke, as they started walking down the street. "I've got at least one more showcase ahead of me now." She glanced back toward Iris. "Looks like you're not off the hook for that Performance Battle. Sorry, Iris."

"Hey, I'm not upset about that," Iris replied. "After all the practice we've been doing, we'd better have a chance to put it to good use. I don't want to have wasted all that time."

"I'm sorry you didn't get a chance to make history, Serena," Brock offered, echoing a sentiment Ash had made several times the previous night. "That would have been a pretty amazing feat."

"Oh, I don't care about that," Serena responded, shaking her head. "As long as I get a chance at the Master Class, I'm not bothered about the rest." She smiled warmly. "Besides, Madison really earned that win. You could tell how much it meant to her."

"Serena!" Everyone turned and stopped as they hear a voice calling out in their direction. They turned and looked back toward the Pokémon Center, to see a ten-year-old brunette waving and running in their direction.

"Oh! Speaking of." Serena grinned and ran toward Madison as well, and the two of them quickly reached each other. "Hey, Madison! Congratulations again on winning last night! You did an incredible job."

"Thanks, Serena." Madison smiled wide as she looked up at her companion. "Are you all leaving town now? Where are you going?"

Serena nodded. "Yeah, we are. We're going to loop around the southern edge of Kalos and make our way back to Lumiose City for the next showcase." She smiled gently. "What about you? Will I be seeing you at any more showcases?"

"Well… it's just, I…" Madison quickly grew flustered, as she tried to figure out what she wanted to say next.

"Hm?" Serena blinked in surprise, watching as Madison fumbled for her words, as her other friends walked up behind her. "What is it?"

Madison looked back up at her, still struggling a bit, before taking a breath and letting it all out. "Please let me come with you, Serena!"

Serena's eyebrows raised in response, a bit taken aback by the forcefulness of the request. Madison waited a moment before continuing.

"You… helped me so much back in Lagoon Town, and I… I want to keep learning from you! I want to be the best performer I can be, and I know that if I'm watching you and learning from you, then maybe I could!" Her hands were clenched into fists, and her eyes were closed, almost as nervous now as she had been before her performance. "I know we're technically competitors, but please let me come along! Please say that it's okay!"

She opened her eyes again, looking up at Serena's stunned expression, as well as the surprise written on the faces of all her friends. Her heart sank a bit, worried that she may have been too eager, too forceful. She waited with bated breath for some sort of response.

Shannon was the first to speak up, looking toward Serena. "Well, you can't say no to a request like that, can you?"

Serena turned back toward her, smiling. "I sure can't." Her gaze returned to Madison, specifically toward the backpack she had with her. "You don't have a tent in that bag, do you? We do a lot of camping out."

"Ah… no, I don't…" Madison's face fell, fearing that she was being rejected. "I've been traveling by bus, staying in Pokémon Centers…"

"Well, that's alright. We'll get you a sleeping bag and you can stay in my tent with me."

Madison's face lit up, and she rushed forward, clasping Serena's hand in both of hers, unable to believe her good fortune. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Serena laughed, delighted and amused by this turn of events. "This is going to be interesting. I've never had a student before."

"I promise I'll be a good one!" Madison let go of Serena's hand, the rush of elation starting to wear off a little. "So where are we going first? Are you headed right to Lumiose City?"

Serena shook her head. "Not directly. We're going to Cyllage City first."

Ash nodded and stepped forward a bit, standing next to Serena. "I'm going to be battling at the Cyllage City Gym. I've got a Cliff Badge to collect."

"Cyllage City Gym?" Madison repeated, confusion evident in her voice. "You mean you guys didn't hear?"

Ash froze immediately upon hearing her words. Even without knowing what she was about to say, he could feel his skin turning cold, knowing whatever news she had to impart couldn't possibly be good news. "Hear what…?"

"The Cyllage City Gym is closed!"

"What?!" Serena exclaimed in shock, as the entire group gasped involuntarily. "When did it close?!"

"Just a few days ago!" Madison answered, already sounding a bit apologetic. "The Gym Leader left town and everything!"

"You can't be serious…" Ash held his head in his hands, instantly stressed to the point of being nearly overwhelmed. "No, no, this can't be happening…"

"We need to get to Cyllage City, pronto," Iris spoke up. "We need to figure out what's happened there."

She turned and started heading toward Route 10, and the others quickly followed her. Serena reached out and gently grasped Ash's arm, pulling him along as he tried to keep pace. As they made their way to the edge of town, he could feel his dreams of winning the Kalos League starting to slip away yet again, a feeling that he had become all too familiar with over the course of his journey.


	20. Cyllage City Blues!

_Double update! Read both chapters 20 and 21!_

_For those asking for more romance, please hold on for a few more chapters._

* * *

It was dusk by the time Ash and his friends arrived in Cyllage City some days later, and despite their tired feet and growling stomachs, they immediately sought out the local gym. As they searched, they couldn't help but notice the lack of townspeople out and about, or the number of buildings that were in disrepair. There was still activity in the city center, but any other part of the city felt like a ghost town. They collectively decided this was a mystery for another time.

"Do you remember where it is, Ash?" Brock asked. "What sort of building is it?"

"It's not in a building," Ash answered, eyes scanning the cliff walls lining the eastern edge of the city. "The gym is built right into the mountain. We should see a tunnel or…"

"Ash, look at that!" Serena pointed toward the cliff. "That must be it!"

Everyone followed Serena's finger along the wall, eventually finding a boarded-up tunnel entrance under a partially-collapsed cliff. The remnants of a massive rockslide lay next to the entrance, and a sign bearing the symbol of the Kalos Pokémon League was smashed and destroyed on the other side of the tunnel, as if it had fallen a hundred feet to the ground.

"Oh my gosh, what happened?!" Iris exclaimed, as everyone started running toward the derelict tunnel. All six of them crowded around the entrance, trying to find a gap in the boards they could peek through; Ash was the only one who managed to get a decent view, and everyone eventually stood back and waited for his report. Pikachu jumped up on top of his head, trying to get a look of his own.

"No way…" Ash sounded stunned, his breath taken away as he took in the sliver of a sight before him. What he saw inside looked less like a Pokémon Gym and more like a disaster zone.

"What is it, Ash?" Serena stepped closer.

"The gym… it's completely destroyed…" He paused as he looked over the mountain of rubble inside. "The ceiling's partially collapsed, and the climbing wall, too… the battlefield is totally gone. It looks like a quarry in there."

"You're kidding!" Iris reached out and pulled Ash away from the crack in the boards, taking a look for herself, gasping as she saw the devastation before her. Shannon stood close to her, as if that would somehow let her see what Iris was seeing.

Serena glanced down toward Madison. "What happened here, Madison? Did this happen recently?"

Madison shook her head. "I think it's been like this a long time, but the gym was still accepting challengers until a few days ago…"

"Seriously?!" Brock exclaimed. "How could they be accepting challengers in a place like this?!" He stood beside Iris, trying to find another crack between the boards to look through.

For the first time since leaving Brackish Town, Ash's despair was outweighed by shock and confusion. He stood back, trying for a few moments to solve the mystery of the gym, before coming up with an idea.

"They said that trainers need to check in at the Pokémon Center," he spoke, turning away. "They'll be able to tell us what's going on." He started walking back into town at a brisk pace, with the others following quickly behind.

* * *

"Yes, the gym… you're the first trainer to come asking about it in weeks." Inside the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy stood in front of Ash and the others, an apologetic look on her face. "I'm afraid you're just a few days too late. The Cyllage City Gym has closed indefinitely."

"We heard that," Ash responded, trying to keep a panicked tone out of his voice. "What happened to it? Why is it all destroyed?"

"It's been that way since the Vein Collapse, three years ago," Joy continued. "The whole city suffered from it, but since the gym is built into the mountain itself, it was hit the hardest by far. It's a miracle the whole place didn't cave in… but as you probably saw, it's completely unusable now."

"And nobody fixed it?" Serena asked, surprised. "After all this time?"

The nurse shook her head. "The money just wasn't there. They had so much to fix around Cyllage City, so many residential and government buildings… if they wanted to fix the gym, as badly as it was damaged, they would have had to take the money from somewhere else. It's really unfortunate, but people need houses more than they need a gym."

"Wait…" Brock stepped forward, putting his hands down on the counter. "But if the gym was destroyed three years ago, why did it only close recently?"

"Well, the gym itself was closed, but the Gym Leader, Grant, was still accepting challengers," she explained. "They would just battle on any spare battlefield that the city had. It worked fine for a while, but eventually, the number of challengers started dwindling down to nothing."

"How come?" Iris chimed in. "Just because the gym was ruined?"

Nurse Joy nodded. "You've probably noticed that the gyms in Kalos all have very unique and interesting constructions to them. It's part of their appeal." Ash nodded, thinking back to the first two gyms they had traveled to on their journey, both of which had been built into enormous trees.

"Apparently, the trainers of the region decided that they didn't want to battle in some random building if they had the choice. So they slowly stopped coming to Cyllage City and went elsewhere instead." She sighed. "Poor Grant would be stuck with nothing to do for days on end, because nobody wanted to challenge him or even train under him. After nobody came to see him for two whole weeks, he went to the city council and asked to leave, and they allowed it. Now the gym is officially closed."

"That's awful…" Serena lamented, remembering Grant's energy and imagining how unhappy he must have been.

"It is, but… what are the trainers supposed to do now?" Ash spoke up again. "How are they supposed to get a Cliff Badge?"

"Unfortunately, they can't," Joy answered. "The Kalos League has told us we can't give out badges if a trainer hasn't battled a Gym Leader." She reached down underneath the counter, pulling out a map and a small slip of paper, handing them both to Ash. "This is a map of all the currently active gyms in the Kalos region. If you go to any of them and show them this pass, they'll let you jump to the front of the line for a Gym Battle."

"Huh…" Ash looked over the map carefully, counting that there were nine gyms still active. They had made plans to visit seven of them, and the last two were significantly out of their way. "I guess we're going to have to figure out a new route through Kalos. This is going to be a mess, isn't it?"

"Again, I'm very sorry." Nurse Joy put on her best smile. "If there's anything else we can do to help, please let me know."

"That's alright," Brock replied chivalrously. "You've been more than helpful enough as it is. We really appreciate it." He had to restrain himself from reaching out and clasping her hands in his, still fighting off a lingering infatuation, as he reluctantly followed the others out of the Pokémon Center.

"It'll be okay, Ash," Serena offered, looking over his shoulder at the map he was holding. "There's still plenty of time before the Pokémon League begins. We'll figure out a way for you to get that last badge."

"I hope so…" Ash was much less optimistic than she was, already plotting out travel routes in his head, none of them good. "We'll have to sit down again and get this figured out, like we did last time."

"We'll have to do it after we get some food," Iris responded. "I'm starving." Both Shannon and Madison voiced their agreement, their stomachs growling, and the group started moving toward downtown in search of a good restaurant.

* * *

Hours later, long after the sun had gone down, Ash and his friends were back at the Pokémon Center and dressed for bed. With six of them all traveling together, they had to get a larger room than usual, but they found themselves spoiled for choice; as fortune would have it, they were the only travelers staying at the center that night. They had quickly chosen the largest room with the best view, claiming six of the eight beds, before pulling out the Kalos gym map and poring over it, thinking about how they could salvage their planned journey.

After nearly thirty minutes, they still hadn't made any progress, as the remote locations of the remaining two gyms was scuttling any plans they could think of, given the showcase schedule that Serena had committed to. Shannon had moved to her bed, sitting on it tiredly and watching the discussion from farther away. Madison was leaning against Serena's shoulder, somewhere between awake and asleep; the first time this had happened, Serena had gently shaken her back awake, but the second time she had relented and allowed it. She was still actively planning with Ash, Brock and Iris, but all of them were quickly coming to the realization none of them had wanted.

"There's only one way we can make this work," Brock eventually announced, stone-faced.

Iris nodded. "We're going to have to split up."

"Oh, no…" Serena covered her mouth with her hand, her heart sinking.

"They're right," Ash responded, looking down at his feet, equally gutted. "If we try to stick together, we'll either miss some showcases, or I can't get all of the badges I need. I'll have to go one way, and Serena will go another. And Iris will need to go with her, and Shannon and Madison too…"

"I'll go with you, Ash," Brock jumped in. "You shouldn't have to travel by yourself. We'll meet up with the girls again eventually."

Ash nodded limply, the offer not doing much to lift his spirits. The sudden change in plans had been frustrating for him, but manageable. Now, however, he could see his summer with Serena going up in smoke, which was an entirely different matter. After all the time he had waited to see her again, the thought of parting was leaving him almost despondent. The others watched as he stood up, turning toward his bed.

"We can figure out what we're going to do in the morning," he mumbled, shambling toward his bunk.

"Ash…" Serena spoke softly, concerned.

"I just really don't want to think about this right now." He lifted up the covers and climbed in, burying his face in his pillow; a sleepy Pikachu quickly moved out of his way, walking over and curling up between his legs instead. Iris and Brock stood up as well, getting themselves into bed, as Serena kept her eyes on Ash for a few more moments. She eventually bit her lip and nodded, reaching over to shake Madison awake again before standing up. She walked over to the light switch and flicked it off before heading for her bunk, the room only illuminated by a small number of lights from windows downtown. All six of them lay in their beds in silence, trying to fall asleep.

"It's so quiet…" Madison spoke after a few moments, half-whispering. The others lay in silent agreement; even for the late hour, the Pokémon Center, as well as the town outside, was far quieter than they were used to. The silence was unnerving.

"There's nobody here," Shannon responded. "No trainers passing through, no tourists, no night life… it's like the whole city is dying."

"I guess without trainers coming through, there's fewer people staying here, eating, shopping…" Iris followed up on Shannon's line of thought. "Then people start leaving because they can't make a living here… it's a death spiral."

"Yeah…" Ash rolled onto his side and looked out the window, at the relative darkness and the lack of activity. He thought back to how Cyllage City had been like on his first trip through Kalos, and how different it was now, even for the scant few hours they had been there. There was no hustle and bustle in the city center, no excitement in the air, and it almost seemed like there was no hope in the eyes of the few citizens they had seen. Grant may have only left recently, but it was clear the soul of the city had disappeared long before that, collapsing in on itself alongside the vein that now stretched its way through western Kalos.

He eventually closed his eyes, starting to drift off. It was clear to him now what he had to do when he woke up the next morning. The tricky part would be getting everyone else to agree.

* * *

"Mary, what's next on my schedule? Do I have time for a quick break?"

The next morning, a middle-aged man in a dark purple suit was seated at his desk in a luxurious office, pressing the button on his intercom. He could hear the sound of papers shuffling on the other end, as his secretary retrieved his schedule.

"A couple of teenagers are here to see you, Mayor Pirkle. They said they had some questions about the gym?"

The man sighed, disappointed, pressing the button again. "Alright, send them in." He sat back, mumbling that at least the meeting would be short. A few seconds later, the doors to his office opened up, and he watched two teenagers step inside. One of them was a boy wearing a red-and-white hat, evidently a Pokémon trainer from the way he was dressed. The other was a girl who was slightly shorter, with long, abundant purple hair tied up behind her waist.

"Thank you for meeting with us, Mr. Mayor," she spoke, smiling. "My name is Iris."

"And I'm Ash," the boy added. "We wanted to…"

"…Ask me about opening up the gym again?" Mayor Pirkle interrupted, anticipating his question.

"Ah… well…" Ash was a bit befuddled by the mayor's tone, as he already sounded like he didn't want to have this discussion.

"Trust me, I've already gotten tons of flak from angry trainers, upset that we were taking one of their gyms away." The mayor leaned back in his comfortable-looking chair. "They called in, sent their letters, calling me every name in the book, demanding that we open back up again. None of them have been showing up the past few weeks, though. Nobody's been coming through looking for a challenge, to convince us that it's worth the trouble. There's still no trainers eating at our restaurants, buying things in our shops, or staying at the Pokémon Center." He leaned forward again, elbows resting on the desk. "Sorry, but two trainers coming by to talk to me in person isn't going to do the trick. Not unless you have a few hundred friends waiting outside."

"We don't want you to just reopen the gym, sir," Ash quickly explained. "We want to rebuild it."

Pirkle paused, not sure he had heard correctly. "Come again?"

"Erm… maybe 'renovate' is a better word," Iris replied, stepping forward. "We want to clear out the rubble, put a proper battlefield down, clean up the entrance… make it a usable space again. Give the trainers someplace to go when they come to get their badges."

"Right…" The mayor was a bit unsure how to react, never having received an offer like this. He eventually went with skepticism. "And you two are going to be renovating it all by yourselves? How old are you, even?"

"Fifteen, sir," Ash answered. "And it's not just us. There's six of us altogether, plus all of our Pokémon, including some powerful Rock-types and Dragon-types. We can get the rubble cleared out in no time, I bet. Give us a week and you'll see what we can do, I promise."

"A week, huh…" Pirkle rested his chin on his hands, elbows on his desk. "You've still got a problem, though. Even if you clean up the gym, there isn't going to be a Gym Leader there to accept challengers and give out badges."

"We can take care of that, too." Iris grinned a bit, gesturing toward herself. "I'm a Gym Leader in Unova, and another of us used to be a Gym Leader in the Kanto region. We can make some calls to the Pokémon League here and arrange for someone new to take on the position."

The mayor raised an eyebrow, surprised and a bit impressed. "You've got this figured out, huh?" He leaned forward, still a bit suspicious. "So how much is this renovation going to cost us? You want to be paid in cash or Poké Balls?"

"The only thing I want is my Cliff Badge, sir," Ash insisted.

Both of the mayor's eyebrows shot up this time. "You're serious? You're doing this just for a gym badge? You can get those a lot more easily, you know."

"It just seems like the right thing to do," Iris added. "Cyllage City could really use this."

The mayor said nothing as he sat back, contemplating this offer as he looked up at the ceiling, fingers steepled. The two teenagers waited patiently and nervously for his response, hoping they had done their job and sold him sufficiently on the idea. After twenty seconds or so, Mayor Pirkle looked back at them, gesturing toward the two neglected chairs in front of his desk.

"Alright, have a seat. Tell me more about the plans you have for our gym."

Ash and Iris both exhaled in relief, grinning as they sat down across from the mayor, launching into a description of the plan they had hastily concocted earlier that morning.

* * *

One hour later, Ash and Iris were walking out toward the boarded-up entrance to the Cyllage City Gym with their friends, a work permit in Iris's backpack and a crowbar in Ash's hand. Once they reached the tunnel, Ash took to the job of pulling the boards free, with Brock lending him a hand when he needed a bit more leverage. A couple of minutes later, they had the entrance completely unblocked, and all six of them stepped over the boards to walk further inside.

Ash grinned wide as he saw the dilapidated space coming into view, despite its severe state of disrepair. He could see how much work lay ahead of him, but he also saw the potential for what the space could be when they were done. He saw himself going into battle and emerging victorious, a Cliff Badge in his hand and his friends by his side. He could feel adrenaline starting to pump through him, the way that it did before an intense Pokémon battle.

He turned back to look at the people that had all agreed to help him, all of them better friends than he could have imagined. They were all smiling, feeling a sense of excitement for what was going to happen. Serena kept her eyes fixed on him, beaming, her heart bursting with pride.

"Well, guys, here we are," he announced. "Our home for the next week. Let's get to work." The others nodded as they walked forward, ready to begin.


	21. Ace to Meet You!

_Double update! Read both chapters 20 and 21!_

* * *

Near the center of downtown Cyllage City, the sound of a ringing bell could be clearly heard over the minimal hustle and bustle, attached to the door of a delicatessen as it opened. Madison stepped through it onto the sidewalk, holding a pack of a dozen water bottles in one hand, using the other hand to keep the door open. Serena thanked her as she stepped outside as well, holding a large box in both hands, with two bags of different sizes on top.

"What a morning," Serena muttered glumly, as the two started walking along the sidewalk toward the outskirts of town. "We must have knocked on three dozen doors."

"I lost count around 26," Madison replied. "All that and not even one person wanted to help us. I can't believe it."

"Well, it's not the most exciting sales pitch," Serena admitted, glancing down at her companion. "What would you say if someone knocked on your door and asked you to come lift rocks for a week?"

"If they were going to help my town get back on its feet, I'd at least try!" the younger girl exclaimed. "Everyone here thinks it's so great that we're rebuilding the gym, but nobody wants to actually lift a finger to help us!"

Serena sighed. "I wish I was more surprised… at least we got some donations out of it. So the morning wasn't a total loss."

"I wonder if they would have given us money if they knew we were going to spend it on food."

"Don't say it like that!" Serena insisted, adopting a scholarly tone. "We're not just buying food. We're supporting the renovation of the gym by providing sustenance to the workers. This is a perfectly legitimate use of funds."

Madison smirked. "What about the éclairs?"

Serena grinned back down at her. "Éclairs are sustenance, too."

The two continued chatting as they made their way back to the remains of the Cyllage City Gym, glad that they could help the cause in some way. Early on in the renovation process, after watching Madison try to lift a fairly large rock, Serena insisted she lay off the heavy lifting, as any injuries could immediately knock her out of the showcase season. Brock had quickly pointed out that the same logic could be applied to Serena herself, and before she knew what was happening, Ash, Iris and Shannon had all agreed that she shouldn't be doing any heavy lifting, either. After grumbling about this for a few minutes, the two performers decided to try and find more pairs of hands to help out; by the middle of the third day, they'd still had no luck.

Serena and Madison soon found themselves back at the tunnel leading to the gym, stepping out of the way as Brock's Geodude floated past, carrying a large piece of rock from the old climbing wall. They walked inside, appraising the pile of rubble still in the center of the gym; while it had shrunk considerably over the past few days, it was still imposingly large.

"Lunchtime, everyone!" Serena announced cheerfully.

"Awesome!" Ash's voice came from the other side of the mountain of debris, sounding tired. "Can you bring it over here?"

"Sure." The two walked around to the other side of the cavern, watching as Ash, Iris, Brock and Shannon came into view. They were all sitting or lying back on the rubble, sweating, their hands preemptively wrapped in bandages to keep them from getting injured. Several of their Pokémon were also out of their Poké Balls and assisting in the effort, most notably Brock's Steelix, who towered over the rest of them. They all turned to look at Serena and Madison as they approached, eyes sparkling as they saw the food she was carrying, as if she were bearing manna from heaven.

As Serena poured out Pokémon food into bowls of varying sizes, Madison carefully walked up toward the workers, offering them each a water bottle, which they greedily took and started gulping down before giving their thanks. Serena followed after, opening the box she had brought to reveal numerous decadent sandwiches, handing one to each of her hungry friends.

"Thanks a lot, Serena," Ash quickly got out before taking a large and hungry bite out of his lunch. Serena grinned and let him eat for a moment before speaking again.

"How is the work going? Are you guys still behind schedule?"

"Oh yeah, we're way behind schedule," he answered, swallowing. "We thought we would have all this stuff out of here by yesterday morning. I didn't think we'd have to move it all one piece at a time."

She frowned and nodded, understanding. On the first day of renovation, they had tried to use Steelix to move all of the debris at once, but this had made the ceiling of the cavern rumble loudly and ominously, causing all of them to scurry outside in a panic. They eventually went back inside to continue working when they felt it was safe, but decided not to do anything that might accidentally cause a cave-in, moving the rubble one piece at a time instead. The group was forced to add "reinforcing the ceiling" to their list of tasks.

"Well, we have some leeway in terms of time, at least," Serena replied. "We can afford to spend another few days if we need it."

"We'll definitely need it," Ash responded, taking another bite out of his sandwich.

"Even that might not be enough," Iris chimed in. "We might have to scale back on some of our plans, like the electrical work."

"That sounds important…" Serena thought for a moment. "Maybe we can cut something else, like… I don't know, plumbing?"

"We already cut the plumbing," Shannon spoke up, watching as her Hydreigon flew down to claim some of the Pokémon food, landing between Pikachu and Snivy.

"That was the first thing to go," Brock added. "None of us knew how we were going to do that in the first place. We're not plumbers."

"Yeah…" Ash looked down, his mood deflating as he pictured the lackluster gym that was likely to emerge from their efforts. "I don't know how we're going to fix the ceiling, either. We're not going to have a Kalos-worthy gym at this rate, that's for sure."

Serena bit her lip, hating to see Ash dejected like this, but not knowing what to say to make him feel better. She had always deeply admired his selflessness and sense of duty toward others, and it was a big part of what had attracted her to him in the first place. Now, however, she feared that he may have gotten himself in over his head. She didn't dare say it out loud, but the thought of him having to stay behind while she went ahead to Lumiose City still lingered in the back of her mind.

"Hey!" Her thoughts were interrupted as a male voice shouted out from near the entrance to the cavern, causing everyone to jump. "Is anyone in here?"

"The gym is closed," Ash called out reflexively, not really wanting to expend the energy to sit up.

"I know that!" the voice called back. "Are you the kids fixing up this place?"

Ash's eyebrows raised, and he set his sandwich down and crawled to the top of the debris mountain, taking a look at who was doing the yelling; Iris and Brock joined him, while Serena walked around to the side. Standing at the entrance to the gym was a tall, barrel-chested man with muscular arms, a chiseled jaw, and blonde hair tied into a short ponytail. He wore a white shirt with a denim vest, jeans, and a blue field cap. The man's appearance tugged at the back of Serena's memory, but the others didn't recognize him at all.

"Yeah, that's us…" Ash stood up, climbing over the pile of rubble. "Why? Who are you?"

"The name's Byron," the man answered, as the group of six started to converge in front of him. "I'm the head honcho of Team Ace."

Serena's eyes shot open in shock, recognition suddenly flashing through her mind. "You're _the_ Byron?!"

"Is there another Byron?" The man chuckled for a second before becoming serious again. "Don't answer that. I know there are other Byrons."

"Um… why are you here, sir?" Ash asked, carefully studying the man in front of him. This person didn't remotely line up with the picture of Byron that he had formed in his mind. He had imagined some stuffy old man wearing a top hat and a monocle, eating caviar for every meal and occasionally leaving his mansion to cut a giant ribbon somewhere.

"I heard some kids were trying to fix up the Cyllage City Gym," Byron answered, studying the group that had formed in front of him. "That's you, huh?"

"Are we in trouble…?" Madison asked, a bit fearful, feeling herself shrink in this man's large and intimidating presence.

Byron laughed. "Trouble? Are you kidding? No way. In fact, I want in."

"Want in?" Iris's eyes widened, optimism springing forth. "You mean you want to help us?"

"That's right," he confirmed. "I don't know what you kids were planning, but imagine what you could do with a blank check and an army of contractors. Give us a week and we'll build the best gym Kalos has ever seen. It'll put the old one to shame."

Ash and Serena's eyes lit up simultaneously at the thought, relief already sweeping through both of them at the mere suggestion of help. Brock was similarly uplifted, but found himself speaking up. "That sounds amazing, but why are you offering? Why do you want the gym rebuilt?"

"I've been trying to build an Ace Center here for years," Byron began to explain. "But the finance guys said it wouldn't be worth it because nobody comes through Cyllage City anymore. Then two days ago I hear about you guys, and the answer's obvious: rebuild the gym and the trainers all come back. I swear, you kids have more sense than my entire advisory board put together."

"Makes sense…" Ash muttered, as Serena stepped forward excitedly, still starstruck.

"That sounds incredible, sir! We'd love to take any help you're willing to give!"

"Alright, then we're in business." Byron extended his hand, which Serena eagerly shook. "First things first: I'm not 'sir'. I hate formalities like that. Just call me Byron."

Serena nodded, willing to call him anything he wanted if he was offering help. "Yes, of course."

"You look familiar, kid." He raised an eyebrow, studying her smiling face. "Have you ever been on TV?"

"Ah… technically, yes…" She flushed red, amazed that someone of his status knew about her somehow. "I'm a performer, and they put me in the ads for the Coumarine City Showcase…"

"Right, that's what it was." He let go of her hand as his recollection came back to him. "I saw a video of you after the show. You lit that place up. Nice work." She blushed deeper, looking downward.

"How do we let the trainers of Kalos know that the gym is fixed?" Shannon wondered aloud. "Do we put something in the paper, or…"

"Newspaper's not nearly loud enough. You're thinking way too small," Byron answered, a hint of condescension in his voice. "This is going to be a rebirth for the whole city. We need to go big with this. We need performances, a carnival, TV, radio… I can probably scrounge up a celebrity to do some ads. Maybe some talk show host or something."

Everyone nodded along as he described his plans, their excitement growing as they imagined a city-wide celebration. The moment was interrupted by Madison. "Oh! I know the perfect celebrity we could ask!"

"Really?" Serena glanced back toward her. "Who is it?"

"Who do you think?" Madison grinned back mischievously, leaving Serena curious. It took her a moment to realize that everyone's eyes were looking in her direction, the answer finally dawning on her.

"Whuh… me?!" she exclaimed, turning her deepest shade of red yet.

"Hey, now there's an idea." Byron rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Kalos loves their performers. That'd be a great celebrity endorsement."

"No, don't call me that!" Serena reached up and tugged her hat down further onto her head, trying to disappear under it, feeling her face burning up.

He laughed, amused by her embarrassment. "TV's the easiest thing in the world. Just gotta say a few lines and they let you try it over and over. I do it all the time. Besides, if you're gunning for Kalos Queen, you'll have to get used to this sooner or later." She groaned a bit, not too comfortable with the accelerated rate at which her fame in Kalos was growing.

Ash reached out and rested his hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to do it if you don't want, Serena. I'm sure Byron wouldn't have any trouble finding someone."

"Nngh… no, I'll do it," she responded, sounding defeated. "But if I make myself look like an idiot in front of all of Kalos, I'm blaming Madison."

"You're going to do great!" Madison insisted, unfazed by Serena's threat. "I can't wait to see it!"

"Alright, that's settled. I've got some calls to make." Byron reached into his vest pocket, pulling out an expensive-looking phone and handing it to Serena. "Speaking of which, put your number in here. I'll call you today or tomorrow with the details. Meanwhile, I need to scrounge up a Gym Leader for this place."

"We're taking care of that," Iris replied, as Serena entered her number into the phone. "We've already been making calls. They're trying to find someone for us now."

"Good, that's one less thing I have to do." He took his phone back as it was handed to him. "Alright, I'm gonna go make some miracles happen. Make sure the place doesn't collapse before the contractors arrive."

"We'll do our best," Brock responded, as Byron turned to leave as abruptly as he had arrived, without even a proper farewell. They all watched him as he walked out, blocking some of the light from the outside with his size, before hopping into a fancy black car parked outside and peeling off.

"Did that really just happen?" Iris wondered aloud, starting to come back to reality as his presence wore off. "Did a famous billionaire just walk in here and save our renovation project, or did I hallucinate all that from exhaustion?"

"If you did, I hallucinated the same thing." Ash let a grin spread wide across his face, unable to believe their good fortune. "Looks like I'm getting my Cliff Badge after all."

Serena grinned as well, reaching out and squeezing his shoulder. "Looks like it to me, too." The group turned and walked toward the back of the cavern, relieved and excited, to finish off the lunch they had started.

* * *

Two days later, the six of them were seated in the empty Gym Leader's office, crowded around a computer screen. The sound of construction was all around them, even with the door closed tightly, so they had the volume cranked up as high as it would go. As Brock reached out and hit the play button on the computer, they could all see Serena's smiling face appear, dressed up in her performance outfit and makeup.

"Hi, everyone!" she exclaimed, looking into the camera and waving energetically. "It's me, Serena! And I'm in Cyllage City right now, preparing for one of the biggest celebrations Kalos has ever seen!"

Nearly everyone in the room grinned wide as the on-screen performer gestured toward a digital mockup of the new Cyllage City Gym, describing all of the improvements being made, as well as the planned carnival and other celebrations that the city was scheduling. Serena was covering her face with her hands, watching the screen through her fingers, painfully aware of every small mistake she had made during yesterday's filming.

"…the fun begins this Saturday, in downtown Cyllage City! I can't wait to see all of you there!" Everyone but Serena broke into a light applause as the video ended, congratulating her even as she continued to hide her face.

"That was great, Serena!" Madison jumped out of her chair and walked over. "You're going to bring so many people here!"

"You're a natural at this," Shannon added, smiling. "You look really comfortable in front of a camera."

"I can't believe that's the take they went with…" Serena muttered, slowly lowering her hands and sitting up. As critical as she was of herself, the praise and encouragement from Ash and her friends was helping to lift her spirits pretty quickly.

"It seemed like a good take to me," Ash offered, as the group all stood up together. "You always perform well, no matter what you're doing, if you ask me."

"Thanks, Ash." Serena sighed as they started walking back into the main hall of the gym. "They're going up all over Kalos today. I guess we'll find out how well I did when people start arriving."

Everyone paused briefly at the entrance to the cavern, watching as dozens of workers crafted the new gym. The pile of debris had been completely removed, and in its place was a deep hole that was being lined with machinery for some unknown purpose. Others were building stands for fans to sit in, while still others were being hoisted up to the ceiling by platform cranes, installing steel beams with the help of their Pokémon.

"This is so cool…" Ash looked around in wonder at the work that had already been done. "This is where I'm going to be battling in just a few days."

"You better make sure you're prepared, Ash," Serena advised, smiling. "There are going to be a lot of people here watching. You don't want to disappoint them."

"Trust me, I'm going to do a lot of training between now and then," he reassured her. "It would help if I knew who I was battling, though…"

"We're still working on it," Iris mentioned from behind him. "But ever since we mentioned Byron's name to the Kalos League, a lot more people have become interested in taking on the gym."

"Don't worry, Ash," Brock continued. "You'll have someone to battle this Saturday, I assure you."

Ash grinned and nodded, turning back toward the gym in progress, taking in a deep breath and letting it out. For the first time in a while, it felt as if things were really going his way. He just hoped his good fortune extended to the battle for his Cliff Badge.


End file.
